The CPN-UML has officially declared its chair, KP Sharma Oli, as the party’s prime minister candidate. The party has also finalised most of its first-past-the-post (FPTP) candidates for the House of Representatives polls scheduled for March 5.

The decision comes amid the trend of major parties declaring their prime ministerial candidates. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has already decided to project Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Balendra (Balen) Shah as its candidate for prime minister. Shah, who won as an independent candidate in the 2022 local elections, decided to unify with the RSP on December 28.

The Nepali Congress, fresh from its second special general convention, is prepared to present Gagan Thapa, the newly elected party president, as its face for the prime minister. Likewise, the UML has decided to repeat Oli, who was ousted as prime minister by the September Gen Z revolt.

Saturday’s secretariat meeting also decided that Oli will run again from Jhapa-5, his traditional constituency where the UML is believed to have a stronghold. The development is being keenly watched as Shah is considering resigning his mayor’s position on Sunday to jump into the election fray—and directly challenge Oli’s seat.

The secretariat meeting held at the UML headquarters in Chysal decided candidates for the majority of the 165 constituencies. The meeting also authorised Oli to pick candidates for the few remaining seats, according to UML Secretary Mahesh Basnet.

While the UML confirmed Oli’s Jhapa-5 race, it made no decision about fielding General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel. Pokhrel, in 2022, had contested the Dang-2 House seat, but lost to Rekha Sharma, a candidate of the erstwhile CPN (Maoist Centre) who enjoyed the backing of the Nepali Congress and some fringe parties in the alliance. The UML has said it will decide its candidate for Dang-2 after consulting Pokhrel.

UML vice-chair Bishnu Paudel has been decided to be fielded from Palpa-2. Paudel earlier had been contesting the poll from Rupendehi-2.

Similarly, the UML has yet to name its candidate for Congress President Gagan Thapa’s constituency. Voters in Kathmandu-4 have elected Thapa for three consecutive elections. The party has not yet decided its candidate for Kathmandu-5, the constituency where Ishwar Pokhrel lost to Pradeep Paude of the Congress in 2022.

Pokhrel had challenged Oli for the top post in the party’s recently concluded 11th general convention. Out of 10 constituencies in Kathmandu, the party also has picked candidates in six seats while Oli will decide the candidates for the remaining four.

Among the two office-bearers who emerged victorious from the Pokhrel panel at the general convention, Vice-chair Gokarna Bista will be fielded from Gulmi-2. However, Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai has not been named for any constituency. Bhattarai won the previous election from Taplejung, but this time Oli is said to pick the candidate for the constituency.

The UML has decided to field Asmin Ghimire in Chitwan-2, the constituency of RSP President Rabi Lamichhane.

The second largest party in the dissolved House has picked all 16 candidates for the Sudurpaschim province. Similarly, 13 constituencies of Karnali province also have got its final candidates from the party.

Likewise, in Rupandehi district of Lumbini Province, candidates have been finalised for two of the five constituencies, while the responsibilities of selecting candidates for the remaining three has been delegated to chair Oli. The party had decided to field Basudev Ghimire from Rupandehi-3. Ghimire was earlier rumoured to be leaving the party to join RSP alongside Mayor Shah.

For the March 5 polls, the Election Commission has set January 20 as the nomination day for all 165 FPTP seats. Most political parties planning to contest House of Representatives seats have already picked their candidates.

An earlier UML secretariat meeting had assigned Oli the responsibility of drafting its election manifesto. The committee has vice-chairs Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bishnu Paudel, General Secretary Pokhrel, and leaders Ishwar Pokhrel, Pradeep Gyawali and Bishnu Rimal as members.

The January 6 meeting also decided to appoint Vice-chair Thapa as the party’s election commander.

UML constituency coordination committees, district committees and provincial committees had already recommended candidates. Based on those recommendations, the names of around 35 leaders, including Oli, were unanimously chosen.

UML publicity department chief Mahendra Bahadur Shahi confirmed the picks.

Until the changes in the Nepali Congress leadership, the two largest parties of the dissolved House, were discussing the prospects of forming an electoral alliance. However, after Gagan Thapa was elected Congress president from the special general convention, the party has decided that there will be no electoral alliance with the UML.

The Congress and the UML had earlier decided to form an alliance for the January 25 vote to fill 18 vacant seats in the National Assembly. The Thapa-led Congress has said it will honour that decision. However, for the parliamentary elections, the party has adopted a policy of not entering into any electoral alliance or pre-poll arrangement with any party.

Bhim Acharya, who lost the post of vice-chair while running from Ishwar Pokhrel’s panel at the recently held 11th general convention, has decided not to stand in the March polls.

Acharya, who won the Sunsari constituency 2 in 2022, had informed the party about his decision, UML leaders said.

Oli, along with the party’s Koshi provincial in-charge Sherdhan Rai, had proposed Acharya’s candidacy from Sunsari-2 but Acharya rejected the offer, according to party sources.

Acharya has contested five elections from the UML since the 1994 mid-term polls.