KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Leaders of the Nepali Congress (NC) on Monday submitted the party’s closed list of candidates under the Proportional Representation (PR) system to the Election Commission (EC) for the House of Representatives (HoR) election scheduled for March 5.
Congress leader Min Bahadur Bishwakarma, along with other senior leaders, formally handed over the PR list following its approval earlier in the day by the party’s Central Executive Committee.
The committee endorsed the PR nominations forwarded from all seven provinces. The EC has set Monday as the final deadline for submitting closed PR lists.
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The submission comes weeks after the party finalized an internal power-sharing arrangement for PR seat allocation, dividing slots along factional lines in a 60–40 ratio. Under the deal, the establishment faction will claim 60 percent of the PR seats, while the remaining 40 percent will be allocated to the non-establishment camp, largely shared between factions led by General Secretary Gagan Thapa and leader Shekhar Koirala.
Multiple sub-groups within the establishment wing had been lobbying to secure positions for their preferred candidates. Senior leaders including Prakash Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Bimalendra Nidhi, and Shashank Koirala were actively pushing for representation of their loyalists. Similar rivalries were visible within the non-establishment bloc, with camps aligned with Thapa and Koirala vying separately for space.
To streamline the selection process, the party first prepared an informal shortlist, which was later presented to the Central Executive Committee for final endorsement before submission to the EC.
In an effort to prevent repeat nominations and broaden representation, the NC has also tightened eligibility criteria for PR candidates. Individuals previously elected through the proportional system, sitting provincial assembly members, and those already included in provincial PR lists were barred from consideration this time.
With the PR closed list now submitted, the NC has completed a key procedural requirement ahead of the March 5 elections, even as internal factional balancing continues to shape its candidate selection process.
