Constituencies set for UML top guns
KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
While the local committees are yet to formally recommend names of candidates for the November 19 Constituent Assembly election, top CPN- UML leaders look decided on their constituencies.
Party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal is set to contest the polls from Ilam’s constituency No 1, the same area where he had won the seat in the 2008 CA election.
Party sources said Khanal is also eying one constituency in Kathmandu to secure his position in the CA. “He [Khanal] is interested in contesting even from Kath-mandu. If not, he will prefer his previous electoral constituency,”
a leader close to Khanal told the Post on Saturday.
Vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam is all set to contest from constituency No 1 in Pyuthan. Gautam’s supporters, however, have been requesting him to contest the polls from his previous constituency—constituency No 1 in Bardiya—too. Pyuthan happens to be Gautam’s birth place. Another Vice-chairperson Bidhya Bhandari is preparing to contest the polls from constituency No 4 in Kathmandu, where she contested the 2008 election. Senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has chosen Kathmandu’s constituency No 2 and constituency No 1 in Rautahat. He lost the election in 2008 in both these constituencies. KP Sharma Oli has gone for his previous constituency—No 7 in Jhapa—and constituency No 1 in Bhaktapur.
General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel is, however, in a fix when it comes to selecting his constituency. While his supporters want him to run from the Okhaldhunga constituency No 1, he has not made up his mind to give up his previous constituency—No 5 in Kathmandu.
Party Secretary Shankar Pokharel has made up his mind to contest from constituency No 4 in Dang. In the 2008 election, party secretary Yubaraj Gyawali had contested from this constituency, while Pokharel was elected through the proportional representation (PR) system.
This time around, it will be Gyawali who will be contesting the election in the PR category. Standing Committee member Bharat Mohan Adhikari has also said he will not contest the November polls under the First-Past-the-Post system.
The UML has started homework to pick candidates from across the country.
The selection process, according to leaders, will end by mid-September.
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