In the House of Representatives election scheduled for Falgun 21, the Nepali Congress will not field 3 current office bearers and 11 former office holders, including former party president and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Candidate nomination is underway nationwide on Tuesday. However, newly elected party president Gagan Thapa did not allocate tickets to these leaders during the nomination process.
Among those denied tickets are former party president Deuba and current office bearers Vice Presidents Bishwaprakash Sharma and Pushpa Bhusal, and Joint General Secretary Dr. Dila Sangraula. Former Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka, former Vice Presidents Dhanraj Gurung, Gopal Man Shrestha, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, and Prakash Man Singh have also been excluded from the candidate list.
Former General Secretary Dr. Shashank Koirala has also not been nominated. Similarly, former Joint General Secretaries Badri Pandey, Jeevan Pariyar, and Umakant Chaudhary, along with former Treasurer Umesh Shrestha, will not contest the election.
Deuba had been continuously elected from Dadeldhura in every parliamentary election since 2046 BS, winning elections in 2048, 2051, 2056, 2064, 2070, 2074, and 2079. After Deuba announced late Monday night that he would not contest this election, the party nominated Nain Singh Mahar from Dadeldhura.
Gagan Thapa was unanimously elected party president during the special general convention held at Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, from Poush 27 to 30, and was later recognized by the Election Commission. Deuba and leaders from his faction have challenged this decision at the Supreme Court, leading to an ongoing dispute over party legitimacy.
Most leaders denied tickets belong to the Deuba faction and the Dr. Shekhar Koirala faction. Former Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka announced on Tuesday morning that he would not contest the election on moral grounds. Following his withdrawal from Surkhet-1, his brother Bishnu Khadka has been nominated as the party candidate.
Vice Presidents Bishwaprakash Sharma and Pushpa Bhusal, elected through the special convention, are also not contesting. Sharma had been contesting from Jhapa-1 and Bhusal from Arghakhanchi. Sharma won the 2079 election, while Bhusal was defeated. Joint General Secretary Dr. Dila Sangraula, previously elected under the proportional system, also did not secure a ticket after failing to finalize a constituency.
Former Vice Presidents Dhanraj Gurung and Gopal Man Shrestha from Syangja-2, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar from Sunsari-3, and Prakash Man Singh from Kathmandu-1 will also not be candidates. Gurung had won from Syangja-2 in 2079, while Shrestha had not received a ticket in that election. Gachhadar was defeated previously, and Singh had won from Kathmandu-1.
Dr. Shashank Koirala, son of party founder BP Koirala, will also not contest this time. He had been elected three consecutive times from Nawalpur-1 in 2070, 2074, and 2079.
Former Joint General Secretaries Pandey, Pariyar, and Chaudhary were also denied tickets. Pandey, elected from Bajura in 2079, had already announced he would not run. Pariyar had been recommended from Kaski-1 and was elected under the proportional system in 2079. Chaudhary, previously defeated in Bara-1, did not receive a ticket this time either.
Former Treasurer Umesh Shrestha, who was defeated by Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane in Chitwan-2 in the last election, has also been excluded.
Several senior leaders, including Bal Bahadur KC (Solukhumbu), Dr. Narayan Khadka (Udayapur-1), Rajendra Kumar KC (Kathmandu-10), and Hridayram Thani (Surkhet-2), had earlier announced they would not contest.
Former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who was elected from Kanchanpur-3 in the previous election, was also denied a ticket, with Hari Bohora nominated in his place. Similarly, Arzu Rana (Kailali-5), Sujata Koirala (Morang-2), and Sita Gurung—the only woman elected directly from the Nepali Congress in 2079 from Terhathum—did not receive tickets this time.
Leaders including Mohan Bahadur Basnet (Sindhupalchok-1), Ramjanam Chaudhary (Kailali-1), Madan Bahadur Amatya (Lalitpur-3), Ramhari Khatiwada (Okhaldhunga), Deepak Khadka (Sankhuwasabha), Shyam Ghimire (Sindhuli-2), and Durlabh Thapa (Bhaktapur-2) were also excluded from the candidate list, along with Ishwori Nyaupane, Chin Kaji Shrestha, Rajendra Bajgai, and Bir Bahadur Balayar.
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