Congress leaders who were MPs in the dissolved House of Representatives through the proportional electoral system will not be allowed to run for proportional representation in the upcoming elections. The Congress has issued a circular to the Election Regional Working Committee not to recommend the names of those elected to the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly through the proportional representation system in 2079 BS.

The Congress has adopted a policy of implementing the provision in Article 33 (2) of the party statute that prohibits proportional representation MPs. Leaders who previously became MPs under the proportional representation system will be allowed to run for the direct system. Chief Secretary of the Congress Central Office Krishna Poudel informed that a circular has been issued on 15 Mangsir along with reference materials so that there is no ambiguity in the criteria as per the statute for the selection of candidates.

In the 2079 Mangsir election, 57 people were elected directly from the Congress and 32 through the proportional representation system. The Congress lost one seat in the by-election held after Ram Chandra Poudel, who was elected from Tanahun-1, became the President. Out of the 32 proportional representation MPs, three men were to be selected, and the party had selected Joint General Secretary Jeevan Pariyar, Spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat and former Vice President Bimalendra Nidhi.

Since 33 percent representation in parliament was to be ensured, the Congress had elected 29 women as MPs through the proportional system. In the then parliament, Sita Gurung was the only woman elected directly from the Congress. Arju Rana Deuba, wife of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Manju Khand, wife of leader Bal Krishna Khand, were elected as MPs through proportional representation. Rana had also become an MP through proportional representation in 2064 and 2070. Khand is an MP for the first time.

Ambika Basnet, Ishwori Neupane, Sarita Prasai, Pratima Gautam, Maina Karki, Nagina Yadav, Muktkumari Yadav, Chanda Chaudhary, Sangeeta Mandal and Rupa BK, who were members of the dissolved House of Representatives, will also no longer be eligible to be candidates through proportional representation. Sita Mijar, Asha BK, Kalpana Chaudhary, Binakumari Thanet, Javeda Khatun, Kantika Sejuwal, Rama Koirala Poudel, Manorama Sherchan, Kusam Thapa Magar, Maya Rai, Sapna Rajbhandari, Sushila Thing, Sita Kumari Rana, Leela Devi Bokhim and Saraswati Bajimay will have to become direct candidates to enter parliament.

Most of the women who have previously become MPs through proportional representation are also members of the party's central working committee. Since they will not be able to get proportional representation, it is seen that their pressure for direct candidates will also come under pressure from the leadership. 'Most of the central-level leaders who were previously proportional MPs have started focusing on their constituencies,' said a Congress official. 'Some are looking for safe constituencies.'

Those who were not able to become MPs in the provincial assembly but whose names are on the closed list cannot be candidates until they remove their names from there. The Congress has issued a circular not to recommend the names of people included in the closed list of the proportional representation for the Provincial Assembly member election, 2079 BS. The letter has instructed to recommend and send the names of the candidates by mid-Mansir.

The Congress has issued a circular to recommend names in a way that not only the proportional representation but also the direct candidate selection can be carried forward simultaneously. The list of candidates for the proportional representation should be submitted to the Election Commission on 18 and 19 Poush, and the direct candidate nomination is scheduled for 6 Magh. ‘The names of the candidates have been requested in advance this time so that the trend of selecting candidates only at the mouth of the nominations ends and preparations can be made on time,’ said Chief Secretary Poudel.

One of the main reasons for the controversy over whether to hold the 15th Congress general convention on 21 Falgun or later was over the issue of ticket distribution in the upcoming elections. After the Congress registered its party with the Election Commission for the purpose of the House of Representatives election by sending the name and signature of President Sher Bahadur Deuba, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma expressed dissatisfaction. Thapa had made a public statement that the tickets for the upcoming election would be distributed by the leadership elected after the general convention.

General Secretary Thapa is suspicious that the party has already issued a circular to recommend candidates for the direct route. 'The list for the proportional route should be decided by the Central Working Committee, but there should be no rush in selecting the candidates for the direct route right now, General Secretary Thapa has said that the new leadership after the upcoming general convention should be allowed to select the candidates,' said a central member close to Thapa.

The names of the direct and proportional candidates for the House of Representatives should be recommended by the election regional working committee and then sent to the center via the districts and provinces. According to the statute, the provincial regional working committee should recommend three names for the direct route and two names, including one woman, for the proportional route.

The election regional working committee can select the name by consensus from the meeting of the general convention representatives and the provincial regional representatives, or by majority vote if there is no consensus. The name recommended by the region goes to the province via the district, and the province recommends it to the center. The parliamentary board chaired by the president at the center makes the final decision on the candidate. According to Poudel, the chief secretary of the central office, a circular has been issued to recommend from the region on 23 Mangsir, send names from the district to the province by 25 Mangsir, and from the province to the center by 27 Mangsir.