KATHMANDU, June 27: The Federal Democratic Front (FDF), comprising seven Madesh-centric parties, has begun preparations for the upcoming by-election in Rupandehi-3. The alliance has initiated discussions to select a consensus candidate for the Rupandehi-3 by-election from among the seven parties.
The alliance held an initial round of discussions on this matter on Thursday, though no final decision has been made yet. The discussions will continue in the coming days to finalize a familiar candidate, informed Keshav Jha, a leader of the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, one of the alliance members.
“We will make an effort to select a common candidate from the alliance. For that, we will hold necessary discussions at the appropriate time. We discussed it on Thursday as well,” said Jha. "We'll have more discussion on it in the future."
NC’s Poudel faction faces difficulty to choose a common candida...
Today’s meeting had this issue on the agenda. During the meeting, leaders from all parties welcomed the agenda, while some also expressed their interest in fielding the candidate. Parties that have shown interest include the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP), Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal (JSP-Nepal), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), and Janamat Party. Party representatives have stated that expressions of interest were submitted today, and further discussions will follow.
The alliance comprises the JSP-Nepal, led by Upendra Yadav; the LSP, led by Mahantha Thakur; the NUP, led by Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary; the Janamat Party, led by Dr. CK Raut; the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, led by Rajendra Mahato; the Janata Pragatisheel Party, led by Hridayesh Tripathi; and the Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party, led by Brishesh Lal.
Leaders from all these parties attended the meeting on Thursday. They agreed on selecting a consensus candidate. However, four parties have shown interest in claiming the candidacy.
In the previous election under the proportional representation system, the NUP secured 6,010 votes, the JSP-Nepal received 5,291 votes, the LSP obtained 5,053 votes, and the Janamat Party garnered 3,732 votes.
The Rupandehi-3 parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of Dipak Bohara, a federal lawmaker from the same constituency, on 1 April 2025.
The Election Commission stated that the by-election will take place by October 31, and preparations are underway accordingly.