Projecting KP Sharma Oli as the next prime minister, the CPN-UML has distributed tickets for first-past-the-post (FPTP) seats in the House of Representatives.
The party’s Secretariat meeting, which convened all day on Saturday at the central headquarters in Chyasal, finalised most candidates. After the meeting, Deputy General Secretary Lekhraj Bhatta made public the list of constituencies where candidates have been confirmed.
According to Bhatta, party chair Oli will hold further consultations and take decisions in constituencies where candidates are yet to be finalised. As per the published list, Oli will contest once again from Jhapa–5.
Vice-chairs Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Prithvi Subba Gurung, and Gokarna Bista will contest from Palpa–2, Lamjung, and Gulmi–2, respectively. Deputy General Secretary Bhatta himself will run from Kailali–4, while Raghubir Mahaseth will contest from Dhanusha–4.
However, the Secretariat failed to decide on another Deputy General Secretary, Yogesh Bhattarai. The seat of Taplejung, where Bhattarai has been contesting elections, was left undecided. Sources say Oli is reluctant to give Bhattarai a ticket.
“Yogesh Bhattarai informed the meeting that he has a note of dissent, not only regarding his constituency but also about the overall ticket distribution system,” a meeting source says. “Nevertheless, office bearers had pressed for a decision on Bhattarai to send a message of unity.”
Bhattarai was elected Deputy General Secretary from the panel of Ishwar Pokhrel at the UML’s 11th General Convention held in December. For this reason, some leaders argued that denying him a ticket would undermine the message of party unity. After no decision was taken on Taplejung, Bhattarai appealed via Facebook for party cadres to remain undistracted by the decision and to work to ensure victory for UML candidates.
“Except for Gokarna Bista, who won the vice-chair post from a different panel, almost no one from the rival group has been given a ticket,” a meeting source says.
The meeting also did not decide to give a ticket to Ishwar Pokhrel, who had challenged Oli for the party chair.
Pokhrel’s name was the sole recommendation from Kathmandu–5. The district committee had added a few other names only on the condition that discussions would proceed if Pokhrel announced he would not contest. Sources say party secretary Rajan Bhattarai is interested in contesting from this constituency.
“Rajan Bhattarai has proposed not to contest from Constituency 4 and instead move to No. 5,” a source says, adding that a decision may eventually be made in his favour.
Bhattarai has faced consecutive defeats in Kathmandu–4.
Deputy General Secretary Bhatta, however, said there is still a possibility that leaders who were recommended after discussions could receive tickets. But the pattern of ticket distribution suggests that Oli is attempting to sideline leaders from rival factions.
None of the secretariat-level leaders who had contested from Ishwar Pokhrel’s panel, Binod Dhakal, Gokul Baskota, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Karna Thapa, Thakur Gaire, Rachana Khadka, and Indralal Sapkota, received tickets. Among them, Baskota (Kavre–2) and Gaire (Palpa–2) had won the 2022 Parliamentary Elections.
However, Vice-chair Paudel, who had been contesting from Rupandehi–2, was given the Palpa–2 ticket, effectively sidelining Gaire. Some office bearers objected to this decision.
“We should not take a decision that sends a message that a party vice-chair has ‘fled’ from his constituency; this also does injustice to Thakur Gaire,” those leaders argued.
Similar arguments were raised regarding Gokul Baskota’s ticket, but the decision was made as proposed. In the process of denying tickets to rival faction leaders, no decision was taken on Binod Dhakal, who had been recommended from three constituencies in Morang—1, 4, and 6.
Former Vice-chair Surendra Pandey was also denied a ticket. Although he has been contesting from Chitwan–1, his name was not even recommended.
A large number of leaders who were recommended still failed to receive tickets due to their alignment with rival factions. Leaders say this is the reason why LP Sawa (Jhapa–4), Mahesh Basnet (Ilam–2), Amir Babu Gurung (Okhaldhunga), Jai Rai (Sunsari–1), Purushottam Paudel (Bara–2), Krishna Rai (Kathmandu–3), Krishna Gopal Shrestha (Kathmandu–9), Ganesh Pahadi (Sindhuli–1), Ratna Gautam (Ramechhap), and Man Bahadur Gurung (Kaski) were denied tickets.
Similarly, leaders argue there were no strong grounds to deny tickets to Balkrishna Subedi (Myagdi), Jhapat Rawal (Kailali–2), Tara Lama (Kanchanpur–1), and Karna Thapa (Bajura). In Bara–2, the party even sidelined Atyananda Pandey and awarded the ticket to Jwala Kumari Sah, who reportedly received only four votes during the recommendation process.
Leaders warn that dissatisfaction could grow as no clear criteria were set for ticket distribution.
“There is no standard now for who got tickets and how. This could create problems for internal party unity,” one leader said.
They argue that balance was not maintained in ticket distribution to ensure a united and strong UML campaign in the elections.
“Office bearers themselves started changing constituencies fearing defeat,” the leader adds. “In many places, giving tickets to junior candidates just to bypass factions could create further problems.”
Oli has not only postponed decisions on leaders active in rival factions or those who did not support him in the past, but also on some leaders from his own camp. The uncertainty surrounding General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel’s ticket is a prime example.
No decision was taken regarding Pokhrel, who has been contesting from Dang–2. According to meeting sources, uncertainty over whether Pokhrel would contest from the same constituency or move elsewhere led to the delay in finalising his ticket.
