Most political parties have finalised their candidates for March 5 snap parliamentary elections. As the Election Commission has designated Tuesday as the day for filing nominations for the 165 first-past-the-post seats, parties have largely completed their selections.

Unlike during previous elections, there are no formal electoral alliances, so major parties have fielded candidates in all 165 constituencies.

The Nepali Congress, which concluded its special general convention only on January 14, has finalised candidates for the hilly region. Candidates have also been decided for several other constituencies, but most seats are still awaiting final selection.

As in previous elections, this one has also seen internal dissatisfaction within parties over candidate choices. Such discontent is particularly visible in the CPN-UML.

According to political science professor Krishna Pokhrel, disputes over candidate selection have not surfaced publicly in the Congress, partly due to strong internal rifts following the special general convention.

“Not all disputes may have surfaced yet in the Congress, and this could be due to the short timeframe for finalising candidates. But controversies might come to light in all parties in the coming days,” Pokhrel said.

In the UML, leaders have accused Chairman KP Sharma Oli of making unilateral decisions in the candidate selection process. Many leaders who had challenged Oli at the party’s 11th general convention in December were denied tickets.

Although senior leader Ishwar Pokhrel was recommended from three constituencies, he was not named as a candidate in the first round. On Monday, however, the party decided to field him from Kathmandu-5, a constituency he has contested in the past.

Similarly, Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai has been excluded from contesting this election, while former finance minister Surendra Pandey was not recommended by the district committee. Another notable figure denied a ticket is Gokul Baskota, who had won from Kavre-2 in the last two elections. Bhattarai, Pandey and Baskota had stood against Oli in the general convention.

Similarly, dissatisfaction erupted in Okhaldhunga after Oli nominated Asmita Thapa as candidate despite her not being nominated from the party’s district committee. Party-affiliated sister organisations have rejected the central leadership’s decision and warned that they would withhold support from the party’s own candidate, if the nomination is not revised.

In Kaski-2, tensions flared after Krishna Bahadur Thapa, former mayor of Pokhara and a Gandaki provincial assembly member, was stripped of his ticket in favour of a young leader Rashmi Acharya. District-level leaders say this decision left party ranks dissatisfied.

Internal disputes have also surfaced within the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which rose to prominence in the last election as an alternative political force.

Following the Gen Z movement in September, the party sought to transform itself into a platform reflecting the spirit of the movement. In that process, it brought in figures ranging from former Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Balen Shah to several other individuals. However, disputes have emerged over the candidate selection process.

Dissatisfaction has grown after social activist Ashika Tamang was nominated as the party’s candidate from Dhading–1. Activists who gathered at the party’s central office in Banasthali openly raised objections to her candidacy.

Earlier, Tamang had announced her intention to contest the election as an independent candidate from Kathmandu-9. But after RSP Vice-chairman DP Aryal decided to run from the same constituency, the party reassigned her to Dhading-1. Party workers have accused the leadership of ignoring long-serving organisational workers in favour of someone new to the party.

Discontent has also surfaced in Parbat, where Keshav Bhurtel, a newcomer, was nominated over longtime party members, and in Kailali, where provincial chair Prakash Bista, who was the sole nominee of the local municipality, was denied a ticket.

The Tehrathum district committee of the RSP has submitted a collective resignation, expressing dissatisfaction over candidate selection.

In their resignation letter, they have accused party chair Rabi Lamichhane of acting arbitrarily in choosing candidates.

Leaders of the Nepal Communist Party, which was formed recently through a merger of several communist parties including the CPN (Maoist Centre), say comparatively fewer problems have emerged over candidate selection within the party.

However, controversy erupted in Jajarkot after the party once again nominated Shakti Basnet as its candidate. Another party leader, Ganesh Prasad Singh, has expressed strong disagreement over the ticket distribution and quit the party in protest.

Party sources say that Basnet had earlier informed district leaders that he would not contest from Jajarkot, and encouraged them to prepare accordingly. When Basnet ultimately received the ticket, dissatisfaction grew within the party.

Similarly, former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, who previously contested from Ilam-2, had hoped to run this time either from Baglung or Kathmandu-10. However, since neither option was granted, he will not contest in March, according to party leader Yubraj Chaulagain.

Khanal and Madhav Nepal, who split from the CPN-UML in 2021 to form the CPN (Unified Socialist), are now affiliated with the Nepali Communist Party.