Nepal’s border with India in southern Bara district sealed ahead of by-polls

Kathmandu: Nepal’s border points with India in the Himalayan country’s southern Bara district have been sealed for the next 72 hours in view of the by-election in Bara-2 constituency on Sunday. The country’s Election Commission is conducting by-elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) in the three constituencies of Tanhun-1, Chitawan-2 and Bara-2. The District Administration Office in Bara said in a statement on Thursday that the border points near Motihari in Bihar shall remain closed from midnight of Thursday to Sunday midnight. The sale and supply of liquor has also been restricted in the district until the vote counting is completed. Vehicular movement along the Postal Highway in the district has been closed except for emergency ones from Saturday midnight to Sunday 7 pm. With the by-polls approaching, political parties displayed their strength by organising rallies for the last time on Thursday. The ruling coalition held election rallies in Chitwan and Bara on Thursday. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister and CPN-Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and senior leaders of the alliance addressed the rallies in a bid to woo votes for their common candidates. The newly formed Rashtriya Swotantra Party (RSP) has fielded its candidates in all three constituencies. Journalist-turned-politician Ravi Lamichhane is contesting the election from Chitawan-2 while prominent economist Swornim Wagley and former Deputy Police Chief Ramesh Kharel are contesting from Tanhun-1 and Bara-2 constituencies. Lamichhane, who had lost his Parliament Member and Deputy Prime Minister’s post due to the citizenship certificate controversy, is contesting a by-election from Chitwan-2. The main competition is between RSP and the common candidates from the ruling alliance. In Tanhun-1, economist Wagle is contesting against Nepali Congress candidate Govinda Bhattarai, who is backed by the ruling alliance. In Chitwan-2, Lamichhane is contesting against Nepali Congress candidate Jit Narayan Shrestha, who is also the common candidate of the ruling alliance The constituencies felt vacant after Ramchandra Paudel, who got elected from Tanahun-1, and Ramshay Prasad Yadav, who had won from Bara-2, resigned their HoR positions after getting elected as the President and the Vice President, respectively. The Chitaan-2 constituency fell vacant after the Supreme Court invalidated the citizenship certificate of Lamichhane, who had won the seat in the November 20 elections. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.