Ruling coalition sweeps 18 out of 19 National Assembly seats UML still largest party despite losing 7 seats

Setopati

Kathmandu, Jan 26

The ruling coalition has swept 18 of the 19 seats in the National Assembly election on Wednesday.

The alliance of Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal (JSP) and Rastriya Janamorcha had allied for the election while the main opposition CPN-UML and RPP had fought alone.

Seven National Assembly members have been elected from women's category, three are Dalits, two people with disabilities ot minorities, and seven others. All of them will serve a six-year term.

UML has won one seat from Province 1 defending just one of the eight seats it will vacate in March. NC has won three out of those seven seats lost by UML, and Maoist Center, Unified Socialist, Janamorcha and JSP one each.

UML remains the largest party in the National Assembly with 17 seats despite losing seven seats. Maoist Center is the second largest party with 15 seats and NC third at 10. Unified Socialist is fourth with eight followed by JSP (3) and Janamorcha (1).

NC fielded candidiates for six seats, CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) for five each, JSP two and Rastriya Janamorcha (one) as per the agreement in the alliance.

The parties had agreed that the parties that will get their seats vacated in this cycle of election will get to field their own candidates for those seats, and agreed sharing for eight seats.

Term of 20 National Assembly members will end in March including eight from CPN-UML, three from NC, four each from Maoist Center and Unified Socialist, and Ram Narayan Bidari nominated by the president on recommendation of the Cabinet.

NC got three, JSP two, and Maoist Center, Unified Socialist and Janamorcha one each out of the eight seats to be vacated by UML

Victorious Candidates

Province 1

Sonam Gyaljen Sherpa (UML): people with disabilities or minorities

Gopal Basnet (NC): Others

Jayanti Rai (Unified Socialist): Woman

Madhesh Province

Urmila Aryal (Maoist Center): Woman

Mohammad Khalid Siddiqui (JSP): Others

Bagmati

Goma Devi Timalsina (Unified Socialist): Woman

Krishna Prasad Paudel (NC): Others