Two senior leaders of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), Jhala Nath Khanal and Bamdev Gautam, will not be contesting the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5.
Khanal said that he has decided to leave his long-held constituency in Ilam to the younger generation.
"I have left the space for youth in Ilam. I have already informed the coordinator that I will not be a candidate elsewhere either," Khanal told Setopati.
Khanal had been contesting from Ilam-1 since 1991. While he suffered defeats in 1999 and 2022, he won the remaining elections from the constituency.
"Due to age and several other factors, I will not be a candidate this time," he said.
The NCP has decided to field Rana Bahadur Rai in Khanal’s place in Ilam-1 and Om Bahadur Gurung in Ilam-2.
Similarly, another veteran leader, Bamdev Gautam, will also not be in the fray. Gautam, who previously contested from Bardiya and Pyuthan, was left without a ticket as the party finalized other names. The NCP has nominated Bishnu Prasad Tharu for Bardiya-1, Suresh Panta for Bardiya-2, and Krishna Dhwaj Khadka for Pyuthan.
According to party insiders, Gautam was dissatisfied with the candidate selection in Pyuthan. This dissatisfaction reportedly contributed to his decision to opt out. Notably, Gautam had recently resigned from the National Assembly specifically to contest the lower house election, even though his term was due to end on March 4.
