Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Upendra Yadav, the chairman of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), has arrived in Bara-2 constituency to meet voters following the decision of the Nepali Congress (NC) to support his candidacy.
Yadav lost in the November 20 House of Representatives election in Saptari-2 constituency to CK Raut of the Janamat Party. Nevertheless, he is excited about the by-election because he has already secured the support of the NC.
The Election Commission is conducting by-elections for the Bara-2, Chitwan-2, and Tanahun-1 seats of the House of Representatives on April 23.
“I am confident of winning the election since I am receiving support from other political parties as well,” Yadav stated. “I appreciate the faith that other parties are placing in me.”
Yadav stated that he should win the election because he is a nationalist, and that the country needs him and his party. “Many have expressed the feeling that my absence from the House of Representatives is felt,” he added.
After facing defeat, Yadav immediately began devising a strategy to enter parliament. His first move was to elect his confidant as JSP’s parliamentary party leader. He made Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav parliamentary party leader of JSP, despite speculation that Ashok Rai, the party’s federal council chairman, would be elected to the post after Yadav’s defeat in the parliamentary election. Another leader, Nabal Kishor Sah, was also vying for the post. But neither of them filed their candidacy. Ramsahaya got elected to the post unopposed.
Yadav has now successfully convinced the NC to support him, and the Maoist Center and Unified Socialist are also expected to back him in the upcoming by-election.
However, Ramsahaya’s election to the post of parliamentary party leader alone was not sufficient to fulfill his strategy of entering parliament. He held several discussions with NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madav Kumar Nepal to secure the post of Vice President for the JSP. Yadav argued that the President and Vice President could be from different communities and regions, not just of different genders, as has been the practice thus far.
After the coalition partners agreed to give the Vice President’s post to the JSP, Yadav proposed Ramsahaya for the post. Many in the party criticized his proposal initially, but no one chose to stake their claim to the post. Ramsahaya ultimately became Vice President, making the Bara-2 seat vacant.
Yadav has now successfully convinced the NC to support him, and the Maoist Center and Unified Socialist are also expected to back him in the upcoming by-election. The Bara-2 constituency will witness fierce competition in the by-election. Yadav will face Shiva Chandra Kushbaha of the Janamat Party and Ramesh Kharel of the Rastriya Swatantra Party. Maoist Center’s Kushbaha, who was Ramsahaya’s closest rival in the November 20 election, has joined the Janamat Party after realizing that his party would support Yadav in the by-election.
In the previous election, Kushbaha lost to Ramsahaya by just 354 votes. Three independent candidates also received 11,043, 10,750, and 7,698 votes, with one of them being a JSP rebel candidate.
