Valley
Maoist Centre finalises its candidates for Valley
The CPN (Maoist Centre), a constituent of the CPN-UML-led left alliance, on Wednesday finalised its candidates for three districts in Kathmandu Valley for the upcoming federal and provincial elections.The CPN (Maoist Centre), a constituent of the CPN-UML-led left alliance, on Wednesday finalised its candidates for three districts in Kathmandu Valley for the upcoming federal and provincial elections.
The party has decided to field student leader Anil Sharma from Kathmandu-1 where the contest is expected to be difficult for the left alliance, with Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh and Bibeksheel Sajha’s Rabindra Mishra also staking their claims to the constituency.
Party’s nomination of former home minister Janardan Sharma’s youngest brother as the alliance’s common candidate for the constituency has taken many party leaders and cadres by surprise.
“We are surprised to learn that Anil Sharma is contesting from Kathmandu-1. The decision came out of the blue without giving much thought,” a senior party leader reacted.
The party has fielded Jhakku Subedi from Kathmandu-6 much to the chagrin of former student leader Himal Sharma, who was eyeing a ticket from the constituency.
Umesh Sthapit, a local leader, has been handed a ticket for Kathmandu-8. Sthapit had earlier won a ward in the constituency.
Similarly, the party has fielded Hitman Shakya at Kathmandu-10 where party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had lost to NC leader Rajan KC in the past.
The Maoist Centre is fielding Dilip Maharjan from 10 (B) and Rudra Baraili from 3 (A) in the two provincial seats.
Party Spokesperson Pampha Bhusal will contest from Lalitpur-3, with Rajkaji Maharjan set to contest at the provincial level from Lalitpur-3 (B) and Sushila Pun from Lalitpur-1 (A).
The candidacy of Sushila, leader Barshaman Pun’s sister, as a common provincial candidate for Lalitpur-1 (A) has also sparked dispute within the party rank and file.
With the left alliance deciding against supporting the Narayan Man Bijukchhe-led Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party in Bhaktapur, the Maoist Centre will field Milan Suwal against Bijukchhe in the constituency-1, with DP Dhakal contesting from Bhaktapur-1(A). The two partners are seeking an independent candidate for Bhaktapur-1 (B).
Seat row: Left alliancein sticky situation
A simmering dispute between the major partners of the left alliance—CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre)—in Sunsari district over the seat distribution is threatening to put their campaign for the upcoming federal and provincial elections off track.
Claiming the seat distribution carried out by the party unification coordination committee in the centre unfair, the Maoist Centre’s election mobilisation committee has warned of fielding independent candidate in the district. “We’ve come to a conclusion to field independent candidates if the dispute over the seat distribution is not resolved immediately,” said Muksamhang Menyangbo, coordinator of the Maoist Centre’s election mobilisation committee.
The UML has maintained its stance to allocate the Maoist Centre only four out of 12 seats—two seats each for federal elections in Sunsari-2 and provincial elections in Sunsari-4 (B). The district has four constituencies for the federal parliament and eight provincial seats.
The Maoist Centre district leadership accused the UML of violating the agreement between the two parties to share seats at a 60:40 ratio. The Maoists have been demanding five seats in the district: one each for federal and provincial polls in Sunsari-1 and provincial seat in constituencies 2, 3 and 4.
The dispute that emerged a day prior to filing nominations has left the UML leadership is a tight spot. The Election Commission has set a Thursday (November 2) deadline for parties to file their nominations for the second phase of federal and provincial elections.
“The Maoist Centre’s claim for election seats in the areas where it failed to win even a single ward member in the local polls is beyond our comprehension,” said Narayan Subedi, acting chairman of the UML Dharan.