Nine aspirants have applied to contest the upcoming Rupandehi-3 by-election from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the party announced on Thursday.

The by-election is scheduled for November 3, and the RSP had opened its internal application process online from July 23 to August 6.

According to Bipin Acharya, RSP’s deputy general secretary and Lumbini Province in-charge, aspirants from within and outside the constituency submitted their candidacies.

The names were released through the party’s official page. The applicants include Sulabh Kharel, Pathwendra Upadhyaya, Dr Lekhjung Thapa, Gyanu Paudel, Jit Bahadur Gupta, Kusum Maharjan, Rachana Chhetri, Pun Kumari Agrawal, and Madhu Prasad Aryal.

Kharel, Thapa, Aryal, Paudel, and Maharjan are seen as the leading contenders. The party plans to announce its final candidate on August 31 through an internal election.

Madhu Aryal, the RSP’s regional president, is an educator and school owner based in Tilottama. He holds a PhD in autism from South Asian University.

Gyanu Paudel is active in the field of cooperatives. Dr Lekhjung Thapa is a neurosurgeon. Kusum Maharjan, a central committee member, hails from Rupandehi and was on the party’s proportional representation (PR) list in the 2022 general elections. However, she has withdrawn her name from the list to contest in the by-election.

Jit Bahadur Gupta is a provincial committee member and was the RSP candidate from the same constituency in 2022. Rachana Chhetri is the party’s district treasurer. Sulabh Kharel returned from the US mainly to participate in the by-election and is considered close to RSP President Rabi Lamichhane and Vice-president Swarnim Wagle.

Party officials said the Rupandehi-3 by-election is a key opportunity to expand the organisation and regain public support. According to the RSP, its internal candidate selection process will be mandatory for all aspirants.

In the 2022 general elections, the RSP received around 14,000 votes under the PR electoral system in Rupandehi-3, finishing third. Gupta secured 5,796 votes in the direct contest. Out of approximately 130,000 registered voters in the constituency, about 90,000 cast ballots. Based on PR and local election results, the Nepali Congress remains the leading party in the constituency.

Following the Election Commission’s decision to hold the by-election in Rupandehi-3 on November 3, political parties have geared up to select their candidates.

The federal seat became vacant after the Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker Deepak Bohara passed away in April.