CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced to fight the federal parliamentary election from any of the three constituencies in Chitwan.

Talking to journalists on Friday in Bharatpur, where his daughter Renu Dahal was elected the metropolis mayor in the local level vote, Dahal said that the party’s secretariat meeting held recently in Birgunj had decided to field him from the district.

Party insiders said Dahal announced his candidacy early on so that he could forge an electoral alliance to ensure his victory. Coalition partner Nepali Congress and the main opposition UML have strong presence in Chitwan.

During the second Constituent Assembly elections, Dahal was elected from Siraha-5 while he lost in Kathmandu-10. Now no candidate can contest elections from two constituencies.

However, many Maoist members who attended the meeting said they were not aware of the decision.

Chitwan has been Dahal’s political base though he was born in Dhikur Pokhari, a remote village in Kaski district. “Chitwan has a significant role in national politics so I’ve decided to stand in the election from the district,” Dahal told journalists on Friday. In 2005, before the rebel Maoists led by Dahal joined the peace process, at least 38 people were killed and a further 72 injured when a crowded bus was torn apart by a Maoist bomb in Bandarmudhe, Chitwan.