Among the direct candidates fielded by the Congress in the House of Representatives elections this time, 97 are new faces. 26 people under the age of 40 registered their candidacies on Tuesday. The number of women who have become direct candidates from the Congress is 11.

Congress General Secretary Pradeep Poudel said that although there are still some shortcomings, the selection of candidates is historic compared to the past. ‘Although it has not been completely improved, this time is the best in ticket distribution, without any controversy,’ he said.

Spokesperson Devraj Chalise said that with the transfer of leadership of the party, efforts have been made to end the distortion of ticket distribution. ‘There is a significant presence of youth, women, inclusiveness and new faces. This distribution has never been done in the past. The situation of repeatedly making the same person a candidate and not giving new people an opportunity has been ended,’ he said. 

Congress has registered its candidacy this time without forming an alliance with any party. Ever since Sher Bahadur Deuba took over as the Congress president, alliances have been formed with some party or the other in elections. In the 2074 House of Representatives elections, Congress had an alliance with Madhesh-centric parties including the RPP in various areas. In the 2079 elections, Congress had an alliance with the then Maoist Center, Unified Socialists and other parties. 

This time, many leaders who have contested elections repeatedly did not get tickets this time. Former President Deuba is not a candidate this time. He had been elected from Dadeldhura continuously since 2048 BS. He was preparing to stand in this year's election. Deuba's parliamentary journey has taken a 'break' after the Gagan Thapa-led working committee elected from the special general convention held on 27-30 Poush received recognition from the Election Commission.

When the Deuba faction submitted its list of candidates to President Thapa, her name was placed at number one. Deuba's wife Arju Rana Deuba, who is also a former foreign minister, was not on the list. Arju also did not get a ticket this time.

The then general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma had been suggesting Deuba to take leave not only from the party but also from the parliamentary constituency in the new political situation after the Gen-G movement. But Deuba had expressed his desire to contest the election for the last time through Balkrishna Khand and Ramesh Lekhak. 

Deuba's single name was recommended from his home district Dadeldhura. But fearing that he might try to become the Prime Minister again after reaching the parliament, Thapa and Sharma were trying to restrict the ticket. That is why a decision on whether to give Deuba a ticket or not was not taken till 12 midnight on Monday. After it was not certain that he would get the ticket, Deuba announced around 12:19 that he would not be a candidate. Former president of the Nepali Sangh Nain Singh Mahar has got the ticket from Dadeldhura. 

BP Koirala's son Shashank Koirala and Ganeshman Singh's son Prakashman Singh did not get the ticket this time. Shashank 2064 and Singh are leaders who have been competing in the parliamentary elections since 2048 BS. Prabal Thapa has become a candidate in Kathmandu-1, where Singh is rising. 

Vijay Kumar Gachhadar, who has been competing continuously since 2048, has also got a ticket from Sunsari-3 this time. Initially, Vijay Kumar was given a ticket, later his brother Ved Gachhadar was given a ticket. Ved was in the interest of the establishment party. With the understanding of the Gachhadar brothers, Vijay Kumar's candidacy was registered. 

According to a party official, Deuba had sent a list of about 85 people from Shekhar Koirala and his group demanding tickets. It included the names of all those directly elected to the dissolved House of Representatives. From the list, 35 people from the Deuba party and 19 from the Shekhar Koirala party have been given tickets. 109 people in favor of the special general convention have got tickets.

Mohan Basnet from Sindhupalchowk, Ramhari Khatiwada from Okhaldhunga, Shyam Krishna Ghimire from Sindhuli, Ramesh Lekhak from Kanchanpur and others did not get tickets. The ticket given to Khatiwada the previous night was later taken away. The Gauri Bahadur Karki-led inquiry commission has placed the writer, who was the Home Minister at the time of the 23 Bhadra incident, under investigation. A case is underway against Basnet in the Terramax case. 

Former acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, on the other hand, had declared that he would not be a candidate on moral grounds as he had filed a writ in the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's decision to recognize the Central Working Committee elected from the special general convention. Khadka has fielded his own brother Bishnu Khadka as his candidate in Surkhet-1, where he is contesting.

Party president Gagan Thapa has left Kathmandu-4 for Sarlahi-4 this time. Cricket commentator Sachin Timalsina has got a ticket in Kathmandu-4, where Thapa has been contesting since 2070. 

 In Kathmandu-10 constituency, all the candidates are new except Pradeep Poudel. Prabal Thapa is the candidate in Kathmandu-1, Kabir Sharma in Kathmandu-2, Ramesh Aryal in Kathmandu-3, Sachin Timalsina in Kathmandu-4, and Sabuj Krishna Baniya in Kathmandu-6. Similarly, Pramodahari Guragain in Kathmandu-7, Sapana Rajbhandari Joshi in Kathmandu-8, Nanu Bastola in Kathmandu-9, and Himal Karki in Kathmandu-10 have got tickets.

General Secretary Poudel, who is also the former Health Minister, has taken a ticket from Kathmandu-5, which he had won earlier. Sita Gurung, the only woman directly elected from the Nepali Congress in the last election, was denied a ticket this time. Santosh Subba has got a ticket in her constituency of Tehrathum. Gagan Thapa's single name was recommended by the regional working committee.

Former vice-president Dhanraj Gurung, former joint general secretaries Jeevan Pariyar and Umakanta Chaudhary also did not get tickets this time. Gurung and Pariyar are close to Shekhar, while Chaudhary is close to Krishna Prasad Sitaula. Kundan Raj Kafle of the Sitaula group, who resigned from the provincial parliament to contest the election in the House of Representatives, also did not get a ticket.

Former central members Padman Narayan Chaudhary, Ajay Kumar Chaurasia, Ishwori Neupane, Kalyan Gurung, Dhyan Govinda Ranjit, Ganesh Lama and others also did not get a ticket. Deepak Khadka, close to Shashank, had announced that he would not contest the election after not getting a ticket.  Deputy Chairman Bishwaprakash Sharma had already announced that he would not contest the election. Hridayram Thani, Badri Pandey, Bal Krishna Khand, Bal Bahadur KC, Narayan Khadka, Zipchiring Lama, Dilendra Prasad Badu, Rajendra Kumar KC, Raju Thapa, Min Bahadur Bishwaparma, Ramnath Adhikari and others had announced that they would not contest the election this time.