Kathmandu, May 1:

The CPN-United has included representatives of sexual minorities and disabled on its list of PR candidates.

The party, which secured 1,45,869 votes under the PR system, has on its PR list Sunil Babu Pant, president of the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), a gay rights organisation, Raghav Bir Joshi, president of the Association of Deaf and Ram Sheela Thankur, first woman barber from Mahottari.

The party had selected the PR candidates at a meeting held yesterday. Party president Chandra Dev Joshi and president of the women’s central committee of the party Kalpana Rana also figure in the list.

General secretary of the party Ganesh Shah said that the party included candidates from minority groups to bring the groups to the mainstream. The party launched its poll campaign by joining hands with groups working for minority groups, including third gender and survivors of human trafficking.

“Our effort is aimed at ensuring inclusive and proportional representation of minorities in the process of restructuring of the state and drafting of a new constitution,” said Shah.

Sunil Babu Pant, a representative of third gender, said, “As a member of the CA and a representative of minority group, we will try to draft a constitution that guarantees fundamental rights.” “We will also work for the empowerment of those minorities who are not represented in the CA,” he said.