KATHMANDU, June 27: The Federal Democratic Alliance—a coalition of seven Madhesh-focused parties—has begun gearing up for the upcoming by-election in Rupandehi-3. The bloc has launched talks to field a single, consensus candidate.

The Rupandehi-3 seat fell vacant following the death of federal lawmaker Dipak Bohara on April 1, 2025. The Election Commission has announced that the by-election will be held by October 31, and preparations are currently underway.

An initial meeting held on Thursday saw preliminary discussions, though no final decision was reached. Talks will continue over the coming days to agree on a well-known figure to represent the alliance, said Keshav Jha of the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, a member party of the alliance.

“We’re committed to fielding a joint candidate. Thursday’s meeting was just the beginning—we’ll keep the dialogue going,” Jha stated.

Thursday’s meeting featured leaders from all seven parties, who welcomed the idea of a common candidate. Several parties also expressed interest in putting forward their own nominee. Among them are the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP), Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal (JSP-Nepal), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), and Janamat Party. Party officials confirmed that expressions of interest were submitted during the meeting and more deliberations are planned.

The alliance includes: The Federal Democratic Alliance comprises seven Madhesh-centric parties: Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal (JSP-Nepal) led by Upendra Yadav, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) led by Mahantha Thakur, Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) led by Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary, Janamat Party led by Dr. CK Raut, Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal led by Rajendra Mahato, Janata Pragatisheel Party led by Hridayesh Tripathi, and Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party led by Brishesh Lal.

All seven parties were represented in the meeting and agreed in principle to unite behind a single candidate. However, four parties—NUP, JSP-Nepal, LSP, and Janamat—have expressed strong interest in securing the nomination.

In the last proportional representation election, these four parties earned significant vote shares in the constituency: NUP: 6,010 votes, JSP-Nepal: 5,291 votes, LSP: 5,053 votes and Janamat Party: 3,732 votes.

People’s News Monitoring Service