Eighteen female candidates including two independents are in the electoral fray from Sudurpashchim Province in the upcoming election to the Member of the House of Representatives.
There are 16 House of Representatives electoral constituencies in the nine districts of this province.
Although women's candidacy is low in the seven hilly districts of the province, there is significant participation of women candidates in Kailali and Kanchanpur among the Terai districts.
According to Dilip Bhat, spokesperson of the Provincial Election Office, the highest number of female candidates is in Kailali where 11 female candidates are contesting, followed by Kanchanpur, and one woman in Doti is preparing for the upcoming election.
Out of a total of 210 candidates in Sudurpaschim province, one person's candidacy has been cancelled, and he mentioned that three people have withdrawn their candidacy.
Among the female candidates in Kanchanpur constituency No. 1, Bina Magar from the Nepali Communist Party, Sita BK from the Aam Janata Party, and Manjudevi Sunar and Rupadevi Bista as independents have filed their candidacy, spokesperson Bhat added.
Similarly, Premwati Rana from Nagarik Unmukti Party Nepal in Kanchanpur Constituency No. 2 and Lakshmi Kumari Bista (Bhatta) from the Janata Party in Constituency No. 3 are in the electoral race.
Likewise, Rupakumari Chaudhary from the Janata Party, Komal Gyawali from the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Sunita Bhandari from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party are contesting the election in Kailali Constituency No. 1.
In constituency No. 2, Samjhana Bista Thapa of Miteri Party Nepal and Laxmi Pun Magar of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party have filed their candidacy. In Kailali constituency No. 3, Sushila Thapa Magar of Miteri Party Nepal and Junu Mahtara Shahi of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party are busy campaigning as candidates.
In the Kailali Electoral Constituency No. 4, Amrita Bhul of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, in Constituency No. 5, Radhika Kumari Karki from the Miteri Party Nepal, Shobhamani Joshi from the National People's Front and Trishna Punmagar from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party are contesting.
There is only one female candidate in Doti, one of the seven hill districts of the Sudurpaschim province. Saraswati Kumari Pal (Malla) of the Miteri Party Nepal has filed her candidacy from here.
The Provincial Election Office has stated that there are a total of 1,716,660 voters in Sudurpaschim Province.
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