NC’s Sunil Thapa set to become National Assembly member as NCP candidate misses deadline

Setopati

Biratnagar, Jan 7

Nepali Congress leader Sunil Bahadur Thapa is certain to be elected unopposed as a member of the National Assembly after the rival candidate failed to reach the election office in time.

Thapa, who filed his nomination under the "Others" cluster from Koshi province, remained the sole candidate after the registration deadline passed. The nomination period was set from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

According to Cholraj Dangal, chief of the Koshi Province Election Office, only Thapa’s nomination was registered under that cluster within the stipulated timeframe.

The Nepali Communist Party had fielded Hemraj Ghimire from Sankhuwasabha for the same seat. However, Ghimire could not reach the election office within the given time as he left Sankhuwasabha for Biratnagar on Wednesday itself. Ghimire is a leader from the former CPN (Unified Socialist).

Dangal said that Ghimire’s nomination was not registered by 3 p.m.

"We cannot officially declare him [Thapa] elected unopposed just yet, but Thapa is the only candidate whose nomination was filed under that cluster," stated Dangal.