Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma has announced that he will not contest the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, 2026.
Speaking at the party’s central working committee meeting on Thursday, Sharma said that he will not file candidacy for the election.
“I was in Jhapa yesterday, on December 24. At a regional gathering I asked colleagues from my constituency to come forward and stake their claim to be candidates,” Sharma said.
He added that he had made the same statement on January 5 early this year while speaking at an event held at the Atithi Sadan in Dhulabari, Mechinagar, Jhapa.
“I had announced that I was not interesting in becoming a candidate in 2027 and urged those interested in becoming candidates in the upcoming election to start working hard in the villages right away,” he said. “Still, I have thanked the respected colleagues of Jhapa-1 for unanimously recommending my name again.”
Criticizing entrenched political practices, Sharma said: “Running for office as long as one’s ‘power’ allows; refusing to leave the constituency even after losing, let alone after winning; losing in one constituency or level and contesting from another, wanting to ‘capture’ a constituency for life; wanting to remain a minister as long as one can breathe—this tendency in our politics must be broken.”
He said that he will not file candidacy this time as he has already contested elections three times.
“In the last election, I was limited to my own constituency. This time, I will travel nationwide to support party candidates,” he said, urging the party to “go to the polls with new faces.”
Sharma did not clarify whether he would seek nomination under the proportional representation system.
He lost the 2013 Constituent Assembly election to Rabin Koirala of the CPN-UML, and the 2017 election to Ram Karki of the left alliance. In 2022, he defeated UML candidate Agni Kharel.
Sharma said at the meeting that the party must change its leadership before heading into the election.
“My request is that we go to the polls with new faces and give opportunities to as many young and new leaders as possible,” he said.
Speaking on the party’s general convention, Sharma suggested revising the schedule to hold conventions at three levels. He said that that party must hold the general convention on January 10 after completing ward-level and regional conventions.
Stating that preparations for the March 5 election were inadequate, Sharma proposed that everyone support holding the election in Baisakh (April-May) instead.
“For the election to take place, either the government must be able to create the necessary environment for the election or we should advise and support the government to hold the election in Baisakh by holding all-party dialogue and discussions,” he said, proposing that constitutional issues could be addressed by holding elections in seven constituencies across the seven provinces on March 5.
