Himal Press 
BUTWAL: Four from CPN-UML have formally expressed interest in contesting the upcoming by-election in Rupandehi-3 constituency of the House of Representatives.
According to the party, four leaders officially put forward their candidacies during the third meeting of the party’s Constituency Coordination Committee held in Bhairahawa.
Politburo member Khimlal Bhattarai, party leader and local businessperson Shashi Paudel, Lumbini Province Committee member and former Siddharthanagar Mayor Hari Prasad Adhikari and Central Committee member Yagyajit Shah have expressed interest in contesting the election from the UML.
Bhattarai, the constituency in-charge of the UML and former National Assembly member, was the first to announce his candidacy. He has been visiting the constituency and meeting party leaders and cadres since the Election Commission Nepal announced the by-election date.
Paudel, a successful livestock entrepreneur who runs Nepal’s largest dairy cattle farm in Rupandehi, is seen as a strong contender due to his direct contact with UML Chairperson and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Shah, the son of former Prime Minister Dr KI Singh and a member of the party’s Central Department, is also confident that his family legacy and Madhesh’s public sentiment will help secure him the ticket.
Adhikari, who has already served as mayor of Siddharthanagar, has argued that Bhairahawa deserves fair representation and that he should be the party’s nominee.
However, Politburo member Dadhiram Neupane and Central Election Commission member Bharat Kumar Pokharel, who were also considered potential aspirants, did not file their candidacies within the party.
The UML Central Committee has instructed the local committee to recommend three names, including one woman, for the by-election. However, no female leaders have expressed interest in contesting the election so far. The party has set a deadline of August 31 to submit the names of aspirants to the central office.
UML’s Rupandehi District Committee Chairperson Yagya Gaire told Himal Press that three names, including a woman, will be recommended to the central committee.
The ECN is holding the by-election on November 3. The seat became vacant after the demise of Deepak Bohora of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in April. Bohora, backed by the UML, defeated the then-home minister Bal Krishna Khand of the Nepali Congress in the 2022 general election.
