Former Nepali Congress acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, who won from Surkhet Constituency No. 1 with 42,607 votes in the last House of Representatives election, was planning to become an MP for the seventh time. As per his wish, the party's regional working committee, Constituency No. 1 meeting in the third week of Poush recommended his name as a direct candidate. However, following the recent developments in the Congress, he announced that he would not contest the election.

Former Minister Hridayram Thani, who won from Surkhet Constituency No. 2 in the 2079 BS House of Representatives election by getting 34,625 votes, was also preparing to enter the electoral fray for the seventh time. The regional working committee meeting held on Poush 23 had recommended the names of six people including him as direct candidates. But on Magh 1, Thani issued a statement stating that he would not contest the election, citing health problems.

Khadka has participated in all the House of Representatives elections since 2048 BS and Thani since 2051 BS. But for the first time, they have dropped out of the parliamentary election. Khadka's brother Bishnu Bahadur Khadka and Thani's confidant Narayan Koirala are now competing to save their legacy.

‘Both of them were leaders of different camps, overall the politics of Karnali depended on them,’ said Kamal Lamsal, associate professor at Midwestern University, ‘It seems that the competition in this election will be interesting when they are out.’ Khadka Sher Bahadur Deuba and Thani Dr. Shekhar Koirala have been active in the group for a long time. He claims that both of them withdrew from the election after the special general convention was recognized by the Election Commission. He says that generational change is necessary in politics.

Khadka was elected in the general elections of 2048, 2051 and 2056. He became a proportional member of parliament in 2064 BS but was defeated in the 2074 BS election and won the second Constituent Assembly member election in 2070 BS and entered parliament again. He started his political journey in 2031 BS and became the mayor of Birendranagar Municipality in 2036 BS. Khadka is a former Deputy Prime Minister and has experience as a minister of Home, Defense, Youth and Sports, Communications, Industry and Commerce. He became a central member in the 10th General Convention and was elected as the joint general secretary and general secretary in the 14th General Convention of the party. _{Narayan Koirala and Bishnu Bahadur Khadka}

His brother Bishnu Bahadur is a candidate in Surkhet Constituency No. 1, where Khadka is contesting. Khadka, a resident of Birendranagar-7, is the district vice president of the party and is also an established businessman in Surkhet. Khadka runs Maya Nursing Home and New Maya Oil Store and is the chairman of Madhya Paschimanchal Yatayat Pvt. Ltd. He said that he had filed his candidacy for the formulation of pro-people laws, to alert the government about the problems of the district and for the development and prosperity of Surkhet.

‘I am not only his (Purna Bahadur) brother, but I also have a distinct identity in politics, business and social service,’ he said, ‘We easily win due to the party’s strong organization and activity.’ Congress Surkhet President Khadak Bahadur Pokharel said that Khadka’s social service spirit, leadership role and deep public relations were the basis for the victory.

There are 13 candidates in Constituency No. 1, including Dhruv Kumar Shahi from UML, Jit Bahadur Rana from Nepali Communist Party (NCP), and Tek Bahadur Singh from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). UML candidate Shahi defeated Khadka by getting 36,759 votes in 2074 BS, and was defeated by getting 30,988 votes in 2079 BS. Shahi is the UML Provincial Committee Secretary.

Similarly, former minister Thani became a candidate in 6 elections in 2051, 2056, 2064, 2070, 2074 and 2079. His wins and losses are equal. He became an MP in 2056, 2064 and 2079 and is also a former central member of the party. Thani, who started politics from the Nepal Students' Union, became the chairman of the State Affairs Committee twice and is a person who has been the Minister for Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.

This time, the Regional Working Committee of Constituency No. 2 had recommended the names of 6 people including him. 'He was hoping to get a ticket from the Shekhar Koirala faction, initially he was also in favor of a special general convention,' said a Congress leader close to him, 'But he became worried when the Koirala faction did not support the special general convention.'

Thani said that he could not even walk in the election this time because he had been suffering from a problem with the veins in his legs for two months. ‘After the Gen-G movement, many unexpected political developments took place in the country, and my health did not support me,’ he said. ‘I did not become a candidate because I could not be active in the election campaign due to adverse health conditions.’