Palpa/Phidim, April 20:

Eighteen candidates contesting polls under the FPTP system from Palpa district forfeited their deposits, while 12 sis the same in Panchthar district.

Of 27 candidates, only nine managed to save their deposits in Palpa.

As the 18 candidates could not secure 10 per cent votes, their deposits were forfeited, the Palpa district election office said.

Except Maoist, NC and UML candidates, five candidates forfeited their deposits in Constituency No 1, six in Constituency No 2 and seven in Constituency No 3.

In Panchthar district, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal central vice president Padam Sundar Lawoti was among 12 candidates who lost their deposits.

Of 19 candidates from the two constituencies, 12 lost their deposits, said Panchthar district election office.

In Constituency No 1, only the candidates of the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist were able to secure more than 10 per cent of the total votes polled, thus saving their deposits, said chief election officer Bishwo Mangal Atreya.

Candidates of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist) and Federal Democratic National Forum were able to bag the required number of votes, while candidates of the RPP-Nepal, Janamorcha, CPN-ML, CPN-United and an independent lost their deposits in Constituency No 2 of the district.

15 women forfeit deposits

Dhangadhi: Fifteen of the 22 women candidates, who contested the constituent assembly election from 11 constituencies of the far-western region, lost their deposits. Three women candidates have been elected to the Constituent Assembly from the region.

Maoist candidates Rupa Sosi Chaudhary and Lila Bhandari won from Constituencies No 1 and 6, respectively, in Kailali while Maoist candidate Renu Chand won in Bataidi-2.

CPN-UML’s Madankumari Shah ‘Garima’ won in Constituency No 1, Nepali Congress’ Tika Kumari Chaudhari in Constituency No 2 and CPN-UML’s Parati Chaudhary in Constituency No 4 of Kailali managed to save their deposits while CPN-UML’s Maya Bhatt saved her deposit, too, in Baitadi constituency 2.

No woman contested from any constituency in six districts of the far-west - Achham, Doti, Bajhang, Bajura, Darchula and Dadeldhura. Women candidates entered the fray in only Kailali of the Seti zone and in Kanchanpur and Baitadi of the Mahakali zone.

Overall, woman candidates contested in only 11 of the 21 constituencies in the region. Also, there was no woman candidate from Kanchanpur-1. — HNS