Heavyweight candidates in the fray in Jhapa-2

Jhapa, Feb 25: Like some other constituencies in Jhapa Constituency no. 2 is also in the news, thanks to an array of heavyweight candidates from different political parties.     

A total of 18 candidates are in the fray, including former Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and two former Ministers of State. There are five influential female candidates trying to woo voters in this constituency.     

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire, the candidate of the CPN (UML) is facing outgoing Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) along with former Minister of State Sarita Prasai from the Nepali Congress, and former Minister of State Dharmashila Chapagain from the Nepal Communist Party are in the fray. Similarly, Chandra Kumari Garu from the Shram Sanskriti Party and Amrita Lawati from the Federal Democratic National Forum are also standing to represent this constituency in the new House of Representatives to be elected on March 5.     

According to the Election Office, there are a total of 147,522 voters in this constituency, of which 73,950 are male and 73,567 are female voters. There are five voters in the 'other' category. The voting will take place through 49 polling centres and 165 polling stations in the constituency.     

Geographically, this constituency includes Arjundhara Municipality, some wards of Birtamod Municipality and some areas of Buddhashanti Rural Municipality. Since 2048 BS, the CPN (UML) has had a strong hold in this constituency. Devi Prasad Ojha in 2048 BS, KP Sharma Oli in 2056 BS, Pavitra Niraula Kharel in 2074 BS and Devraj Ghimire in 2079 BS have been elected from here.     

Similarly, Gauri Shankar Khadka of the then CPN (Maoist) in 2064 BS and Sudhir Kumar Shiwakoti of the Nepali Congress in 2070 BS were also elected from this constituency. Voters' expectations in this election are not limited to political change alone. A permanent solution to the problem of squatters in Arjundhara and the former Khudunabari VDC area and distribution of land ownership certificates are the main demands of voters.     

Political analysts say that the role of small parties and new voters will be decisive this time as the results were obtained with a small margin in the previous election. The large number of female candidates has added enthusiasm among female voters.(RSS)