The number of independent candidates has been seen significantly in the upcoming House of Representatives elections to be held on Falgun 21.

Out of 3484 candidates, 1187 are independent candidates. Of these, 1024 are men and 160 are women.

Mahavir Pun resigned from the post of Minister of Education and Science Technology and registered his candidacy with the Election Commission from Myagdi-1 on Tuesday. Pun had earlier said that he would not contest the election. But when he suddenly resigned and registered his candidacy in Myagdi, many were surprised.

‘I was not supported in the work I was trying to do. I suddenly got angry, and I resigned and went to contest the election,’ Pun told Kantipur. He had also mentioned on the social network Facebook that he had taken this decision because of the non-support. ‘If the President and the Legislative Committee had accepted the three ordinances and four regulations that I wanted to bring in order to make the country prosperous,’ he said. ‘The Chief Secretary interfered in creating a separate and strong Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and then I got angry and ran to Myagdi.’

According to former Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya, this time the votes of independents may be on par with those of a national party. He said that he had fielded an independent candidate because he was not a member of any party. He has been active in the election campaign since Wednesday.

He further clarified the various reasons for the large number of independent candidates in the election. According to Thapaliya, there are five tendencies to participate in the election. Some people want to participate in the election even though they know they will lose.

Lawyer Prada Yubaraj Sangraula has also filed his candidacy for an independent seat from Jhapa-2. He filed his candidacy at the District Election Office, Jhapa on Tuesday. 'I want to represent the citizens. That is why I am a non-partisan independent candidate. This election is being held at a special time. Therefore, all parties can support my candidacy, which represents ideas,' he mentioned on social media on Wednesday. In the same constituency where he filed his independent candidacy, former Speaker Devraj Ghimire has filed his candidacy from UML and former Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar has filed his candidacy from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Physician Dr. Nicholas Bhusal filed his independent candidacy for the House of Representatives from Rupandehi-2. He is a figure who keeps coming into the limelight due to his expressions and social campaigns. He had started a hunger strike to death in Maitighar Mandala on Poush 9. He expressed dissatisfaction with the government's working style and demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister and Home Minister, an investigation into the repression of youth, and political reforms. His hunger strike was broken after about 11 days after a six-point agreement.

87-year-old former administrator Madan Dev Acharya has also filed his candidacy for the election. He has filed his candidacy from Kathmandu-4. 'I have seen all kinds of mischief while working in the government service. I have stood up to prevent that. My candidacy is to stop corruption,' he told reporters on the day he filed his candidacy.

Pathao operator Asimman Singh Basnyat has also filed his candidacy as an independent candidate in Kathmandu-1. He said that he filed his candidacy as his agenda did not match that of any party. 'We have had discussions with the parties. But my agenda did not match theirs.' When I was trying to establish my agenda, I thought I would reach it faster if I walked alone,' he told Kantipur.

He said that he would put forward three agendas while standing for election. 'First, while encouraging entrepreneurship, we will create an environment for the youth to live in the country, make leaders accountable, and create an environment for learning from each other by reducing the gap between the new and old generations in society,' Basnyat said.

This time, the number of youth is higher among the candidates. According to the commission's data, 295 people in the age group of 25 to 35 have filed their candidacies. Similarly, 260 people in the age group of 36 to 50 and 284 people in the age group of 51 to 65 have filed their candidacies as independent candidates. 49 people above the age of 66 have filed their candidacies as independent candidates.

Among the independent candidates, there are many who rebelled after the party did not give them a ticket. Former Chief Minister Kul Prasad KC has also filed an independent candidacy from Dang-1. KC filed an independent candidacy after the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) gave a ticket to Metmani Chaudhary, who is also a former minister.

‘My name was also there when the first recommendation was made. But the ticket was given to Metmani again. That is why I filed an independent candidacy,’ KC told Kantipur.

Congress youth leader Ashish Sharma has filed an independent candidacy in Kapilvastu-1. Congress’s Athar Kamal filed an independent candidacy after he got the ticket.

Congress’s Baburam Acharya also filed a rebel candidacy in Kathmandu-1. He filed an independent candidacy after the party made Prabal Thapa its candidate. Bhupendra Jung Shahi of the Nepali Congress also filed his candidacy from Kalikot against Harsh Bahadur Bam, who got a ticket from the party. Jeevan Budha of the party filed his candidacy against Mahendra Bahadur Shahi of the Nepali Congress in the same constituency.

In Udayapur-2, Limchungbung Rural Municipality Chairman Major Rai also filed his candidacy as an independent candidate after the Nepali Congress did not give him a ticket. In Okhaldhunga, Sant Bahadur Tamang filed his candidacy against the Nepali Congress candidate. There are many independent candidates across the country who rebelled after the party did not give him a ticket.

Meaning of independent candidacy

Although there are many independent candidates, the number of winners has been low in the past. In the previous 2079 House of Representatives elections, only five independent candidates had won.

Yogendra Mandal from Morang-5, Amaresh Kumar Singh from Sarlahi-4, Prabhu Sah from Rautahat-3 and Lalbir Chaudhary from Bardiya-2 had won. But former Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya estimates, ‘This time the votes of independents may come to the same level as a national party.’

He further clarified the various reasons for the large number of independent candidates in the election. According to Thapaliya, there are five tendencies to participate in the election. Some people want to participate in the election even though they know they will lose. The second is the autocratic tendency of various political parties to distribute tickets. Against that, some people give independent candidacy. The third is the candidacy of a person who does not want to be affiliated with the principles of any party. This is a kind of independent tendency. The fourth is that some people also give candidacy because they see the election as an opportunity to establish their beliefs.