Kathmandu : Four ministers in the Sushila Karki–led government, formed with a mandate to conduct elections for the House of Representatives (HoR), have resigned from their posts to contest in the upcoming election scheduled for March 5.

The resigning ministers are Kulman Ghising, who held the portfolios of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation; Physical Infrastructure and Transport; and Urban Development; Bablu Gupta, Minister for Youth and Sports; Jagadish Kharel, Minister for Communications and Information Technology; and Mahabir Pun, Minister for Education, Science and Technology.

Following his resignation, Ghising has formed a new political party, the Ujyalo Nepal Party, under his own leadership. A former Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Ghising will contest from Kathmandu electoral constituency-3, according to the party’s spokesperson, Dr Raju Thapa.

Gupta, widely regarded as a Gen Z leader and social activist, told RSS that he will file his candidacy from Siraha-1.

Kharel, who has more than two decades of experience in Nepali journalism and previously served in the editorial leadership of Image Television, has joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party. He is scheduled to visit the District Election Office in Lalitpur today to file his candidacy from Lalitpur electoral constituency-2.
Similarly, Pun, founder of the National Innovation Centre and recipient of the 2007 Ramon Magsaysay Award, has already filed his independent candidacy from Myagdi electoral constituency-1.

Candidacies under the first-past-the-post system for 165 electoral constituencies are being filed today, January 20.