Resham Chaudhary, the patron of the Nagrik Unmukti Party (NUP), has decided to field an independent candidate in the by-election for Rupandehi-3.
The NUP was unable to register with the Election Commission for the by-election scheduled for November 3. Following this, Chaudhary is preparing to register an independent candidacy with the support of the United Democratic Front.
The Election Commission had said that the NUP, embroiled in internal disputes, was ineligible to be recognized as a political party for the by-election.
According to Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, there was a dispute regarding the NUP's working committee when the commission called for registration of parties for the by-election.
On July 30, a national gathering called by Resham Chaudhary’s faction expelled party chairperson Ranjita Shrestha from her position. Shrestha is the founding chairperson of the party, which was established in January 2022 while Resham Chaudhary was in jail.
The national gathering replaced Shrestha with Resham’s father, Lalbir Chaudhary, who is not even a founding member of the party. Lalbir joined the NUP after he was elected to the House of Representatives from Bardiya-1 as an independent candidate in the 2022 general election.
The Election Commission refused to grant legitimacy to the NUP working committee led by Lalbir.
According to the commission, the Lalbir-led committee had submitted an application for party registration, along with the decision of the central committee, an annual audit report, and other necessary documents.
However, a meeting of the Election Commission on August 12 ruled that the NUP’s national gathering was illegitimate and that a person who is not a founding member cannot serve as the central chairperson. Consequently, Lalbir’s application for party registration for the by-election was also dismissed.
On the same day, August 12, Shrestha, who has been upheld by the commission as NUP chairperson, submitted another application for party registration. However, she did not have copies of the central committee’s decision and the annual audit report approved by the central committee.
According to a party leader, Shrestha does not have a majority in the central committee. Out of the 21 founding members, 13 attended the national conference and supported Lalbir.
“After Ranjita was upheld as the chairperson on August 12, she submitted an application to the commission on the same day. After the commission pointed out the lack of the central committee’s decision, the chairperson was coordinating with some central committee members. However, the deadline for party registration was set for August 12, and all required documents could not be gathered in time,” the leader said.
Having failed to register the party due to the inability to arrange documents in time, Resham’s faction is preparing to field an independent candidate.
Ranjita’s faction, meanwhile, is in a dilemma. Another central committee member close to her said that the party can now only provide moral support.
“Since the party is not registered, there’s no question of using the party’s election symbol,” the leader said. “The only option now is to provide moral support if someone from the party, who was already prepared, files an independent candidacy.”
The internal conflict within the NUP has also put the United Democratic Front in a difficult position.
The front comprises seven parties: Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal (JSP Nepal), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, NUP, Janamat Party, Janata Pragatisheel Party, Rastriya Mukti Party, and Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party.
Of these, the Janamat Party has announced that it will field its own candidate. The remaining six parties had decided to support the NUP (specifically Resham’s faction). As a result, none of the other parties in the front, except the NUP, applied for registration with the Election Commission for the by-election.
With neither Resham’s nor Ranjita’s faction registering the party, the front is now uncertain about its next steps. Manish Kumar Suman, spokesperson for the JSP Nepal, said that the front would field an independent candidate.
“When it was time to register the party, a dispute arose within the NUP. Neither Resham’s nor Ranjita’s faction registered the party. We had urged the NUP to register,” Suman told Setopati. “We will soon decide what to do. We will most likely field a common independent candidate in Rupandehi-3.”
Keshav Jha, general secretary of the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, said that the front would support the candidate fielded by Resham Chaudhary.
“The front will support the candidate fielded by the NUP, specifically by Resham Chaudhary. We had already made this decision. They couldn’t register the party, but we will support the independent candidate they field,” he said.
Filing of candidacies for the by-election in Rupandehi-3 is scheduled for October 7. The seat became vacant following the death of Deepak Bohara, who was elected to the House of Representatives from the constituency.
A total of 26 parties have been registered for the by-election. The registered parties include Mongol National Organization, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janamat Party, Rastriya Mukti Andolan Nepal, Janata Samajwadi Party, Nepali Congress, Rastriya Janamorcha, CPN (Maoist Center), Janaprajatantrik Party Nepal, CPN-UML, CPN Marxist (Pushpalal), and Samyukta Nagarik Party.
Additionally, CPN (Unified Socialist), Nepal Samajwadi Party (Naya Shakti), CPN (Marxist-Leninist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nepal), National Republic Nepal, Rastriya Matribhumi Party, Nepali Janata Dal, Rastriya Yatharthawadi Party Nepal, Rastriya Swatantra Party, Nepal Janamukti Party, Hamro Nepali Party, Bahujan Shakti Party, and Khambuwan Rastriya Morcha Nepal have also registered to participate in the election.
Along with party registration, political parties are actively engaged in selecting candidates for the by-election.
The CPN-UML has directed its lower committees to recommend candidates and send them to the center by August 31.
The Nepali Congress is also in the process of recommending candidates.
The Unified Socialist has formed a five-member task force led by its Lumbini in-charge, Met Mani Chaudhary, to study the by-election in Rupandehi-3.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party has selected nine preliminary candidates and is conducting an internal competition through its leadership academy. The party plans to announce its candidate through a primary election on August 31.
