The Nepali Congress is in the final stages of finalizing its candidates for the House of Representatives elections to be held on February 21. While other parties have finalized the names of their direct candidates and reached the constituencies, the Congress is still in discussions due to internal disputes. The Congress, which has been divided into the Special General Convention faction and the Deuba faction, is also preparing to go to the elections as a united front. A meeting of the parliamentary board has been called for this purpose.

The leaders of the Thapa faction, Deuba and Shekhar Koirala factions of the Nepali Congress have been busy with internal discussions since Sunday night to decide on a common candidate. While the party is engaged in such discussions, some leaders of the Nepali Congress have announced that they will not be candidates, citing the agenda of the J-G movement held on Bhadra 23 and 24 and for the sake of generational transfer. So far, 11 leaders of the Nepali Congress have announced that they will not participate in the elections to the House of Representatives and will give opportunities to Gen-G youth.

Bishwaprakash Sharma

Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma is among the first to make such an announcement. Sharma, who has been given important responsibilities in the party since the special general convention, had publicly announced that he would not be a candidate in the meeting of the Central Working Committee held on Poush 10. He had announced that he would not be a candidate in his constituency, saying that he had been a candidate three times and had informed his constituency that he would not be a candidate again. In the 2079 House of Representatives elections, Sharma defeated Agni Kharel of the UML. Sharma got 39,624 votes while his opponent Kharel got 25,349 votes.

Rajendra Kumar KC, who won the election from Kathmandu constituency number 10 for three consecutive times, also announced that he would not be a candidate in the election this time. Former minister and then member of parliament Rajan KC (67), a resident of Kirtipur, had also defeated the coordinator of the NCP, Pushpa Kamal Dahal. KC, who entered the electoral fray for parliamentary politics in 2064, said that he would not enter the electoral fray not only directly but also in the National Assembly, proportional representation, anywhere and never.

KC won in the 2079 election by getting 14,463 votes. His opponent, Himesh KC of the CPN-UML, got 11,791 votes.

Purna Bahadur Khadka

Purna Bahadur Khadka, the outgoing acting president of the Nepali Congress, has also decided not to be a candidate for the House of Representatives elections to be held on 21 Falgun. After the special general convention, he has reached the Supreme Court from the Election Commission to stand in favor of Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Saying that he cannot think and imagine anything other than the tree election symbol, he has requested all the party friends, well-wishers and voters not to start a new party or stand as an independent candidate. In the 2079 BS election, he had won from Surkhet 1. In Surkhet 1, he won by getting 42,607 votes, while his competitor Dhubra Kumar Shahi of the UML got 30,988 votes.

Ramnath Adhikari

Ramnath Adhikari, who is contesting the election from Dhading, has also announced that he will not be a candidate this time. In the meeting of the Dhading Constituency No. 2 Regional Working Committee, he announced that he would not contest the elections to be held on 21 Falgun and asked his friends to prepare for the Gen-G sentiment.

Adhikari, who is also the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, made this announcement at the age of 64. In the 2079 elections, he was elected to the House of Representatives by defeating UML's Khem Prasad Lohani. Adhikari got 34,736 votes while Lohani got 24,190 votes.

Dilendra Prasad Badu

Outgoing central member of the Nepali Congress Dilendra Prasad Badu has also announced that he will not be a candidate in the upcoming elections. He had sent a letter to the District Working Committee announcing that he would not be a candidate in the upcoming elections.

The meeting of the Darchula District Working Committee of the Nepali Congress held on 25 and 26 Mangsir unanimously recommended leader Badu as a single candidate for the House of Representatives. But Badu expressed his desire not to be a candidate in the meeting due to the evolving political situation in the country and especially the political and social situation created by the Gen-G movement and protests on Bhadra 23 and 24.

In the District Working Committee meeting held on Mangsir 25 and 26, leader Badu, who is also a former minister, had said that he had no intention of contesting the elections and would give way to a new candidate. Badu submitted a letter of non-contestation on Poush 22, which was registered on 24. Badu won the 2079 election by getting 28,515 votes. He defeated UML's Ganesh Singh Thagunna.

Hridayram Thani

Hridayram Thani also announced that he would not be a candidate, saying that the country had witnessed many unexpected political developments after the Gen-G movement on Bhadra 23 and 24. In his announcement not to contest the elections, he cited health reasons.

‘Due to my adverse health condition, I have decided not to be a candidate in the election of members of the House of Representatives to be held on Falgun 21 due to the situation where I am unable to be present in the nomination registration on Magh 6 and be active thereafter,’ he said in a statement. His name was recommended for Surkhet Constituency No. 2.

He made this announcement stating that he has been unable to walk easily due to a nerve problem in his leg for about 2 months.

65-year-old Thani had already become a federal MP in 2056 BS. He became a member of the House of Representatives in 2056 BS and won by getting 34,625 votes. He defeated UML’s Amrit Bahadur Budha Chhetri.

He became a member of the Constituent Assembly in 2070 BS. He was also elected to the House of Representatives in 2079 BS. He worked as the vice-president of the Nepal Students’ Union Central Committee from 2043 to 2048 BS. He was the president of the Congress District Working Committee, Surkhet from 2059 to 2061.

He became a central member of the Congress from the 13th General Convention.

Bal Bahadur KC

Nepali Congress leader Bal Bahadur KC has also announced that he will not be a candidate in the upcoming House of Representatives elections. Leader KC, who was directly recommended as number 1 by the District Committee from Solukhumbu, has announced that he will not contest the elections.

KC, who has been contesting elections from Solukhumbu continuously since 2048 BS, has won 4 elections and lost in 3. In the 2079 BS House of Representatives elections, he was defeated by UML leader Manvir Rai. While Rai got 19,324 votes, KC got 16,545 votes. After a dispute within the Congress, he had said that he would 'plant the tree and the four-star flag wherever it is' and had recently announced that he would not be a candidate.

With the announcement of KC, an influential Congress leader who has been a minister several times, the way has been paved for a new candidate in Solukhumbu.

Narayan Khadka

Narayan Khadka, who is also a former foreign minister, has also announced that he will not be a candidate. Khadka, who is contesting from Udayapur constituency number 1, had also requested to remove his name from the candidate recommendation list.

Khadka, who was on the list of proposed candidates for Udayapur constituency number 1 by the Congress Koshi Province Working Committee for the House of Representatives elections to be held on Falgun 21, had asked to remove his name.

‘Since my name has been included in the proposed list of candidates for the House of Representatives member of Udayapur Constituency No. 1, 2082, from the Nepali Congress Koshi Province Working Committee, I request you to inform the concerned body of the central office about my letter so that my name can be removed from that list,’ Khadka has made this public request.

Khadka, who first contested and was defeated in the House of Representatives in 2056, has won in 2064, 2070, 2074 and 2079 and has also become a minister several times. In 2079, Khadka defeated UML’s Manju Kumari Chaudhary by getting 31,270 votes.

Badri Pandey

Nepali Congress’s current Joint General Secretary Badri Pandey has announced that he will not be a candidate in the upcoming House of Representatives elections.

Pandey, who was directly elected from Bajura in 2079, recommended his name after he said he would not contest the election.

Pandey, who is also the former Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said that he decided not to contest the election to give an opportunity to the new generation.

‘I have become an MP and a minister. I decided not to contest the election thinking that I should give an opportunity to the new generation,’ said Pandey.

Pandey said that he has no desire to be a candidate for the direct/proportional and National Assembly member of the House of Representatives. Pandey was a minister in the government led by UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli when the Gen-G movement took place. He said that he felt that the demands of the agitating youth could not be addressed in a timely and expected manner because he was in the government. He said that although he did not have a direct role in the government-aggrieved interaction, he would take moral responsibility for it as a member of the Council of Ministers.

Zipchiring Lama

Zipchiring Lama, who is running for the House of Representatives from Dolakha, announced that he would not be a candidate this time after the election date was announced. He did not contest the 2079 BS House of Representatives election. He runs a construction company called Lama Construction and became a member of the Constituent Assembly in 2064 BS. In 2070 BS, he was a direct candidate from Dolakha but was defeated.

Raju Thapa

Syangja District President Raju Thapa has also announced that he will not be a candidate for the House of Representatives this time. He was elected to the House of Representatives from Syangja Constituency No. 1 in the 2079 BS election and has announced that he will not contest, saying that he will provide an opportunity to Gen-G youth. In the 2079 BS election, he defeated Narayan Prasad Marasini of CPN-UML by getting 31,999 votes. 'I have been a candidate three times in a row before.' I have decided not to run this time,' Thapa said, 'This time I will be active in providing opportunities to new friends and supporting them.'