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Kathmandu, Jan 26: A total of 66 political parties have entered the race for the direct election to the House of Representatives, with the Nepali Congress the only party to field candidates in all 165 constituencies.

Nomination details released by the Election Commission show that no other party has contested every seat. Independent contenders are also present in large numbers, with 1,143 individuals filing nominations. Eight parties have nominated only one candidate each.

Among major parties, the CPN UML, Nepali Communist Party and the Rastriya Swatantra Party have fielded an equal number of candidates. Each has nominated 164 candidates, leaving one constituency uncontested. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party follows with candidates in 163 constituencies.

The Nepali Communist Party  has nominated 130 candidates, while the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party has fielded 120 nationwide. The Mongol National Organization has candidates in 113 constituencies. The Shram Sanskriti Party has nominated 109 candidates and the Ujyaalo Nepal Party 105.

According to the Commission, the Aam Janata Party has fielded 98 candidates, followed by the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal with 94. The Progressive Democratic Party has nominated 82 candidates, Rastriya Janamorcha 70 and the Janamat Party 61.

National Republic Nepal has nominated 46 candidates, Nepal Communist Party Unified 35, Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal 33 and Miteri Party Nepal 29. Nagarik Unmukti Party Nepal has fielded 24 candidates, while the Federal Democratic National Forum has nominated 23.

The Joint Citizens Party has nominated 21 candidates, Nepal Janata Party 20 and Janata Samajbadi Party single symbol group 19. Nepal Janmukti Party has fielded 18 candidates. Rastriya Janmukti Party and Rastriya Parivartan Party have each nominated 17, while Jai Matrubhumi Party has nominated 14.

Several smaller parties have fielded between two and thirteen candidates, including Rashtra Nirman Dal Nepal, Nepalka Lagi Nepali Party, Nepal Federal Socialist Party, Nepal Jansewa Party and Bahujan Ekata Party Nepal.

Others with limited presence include parties that have nominated six, five, four, three, two or a single candidate, reflecting fragmentation of the contest. Overall, the nominations show intense competition nationwide, with major parties dominant and smaller groups testing voter support in many constituencies nationwide.

People’s News Monitoring Service