By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov. 7: After holding marathon meetings, the Nepali Congress on Wednesday managed to announce its candidates for November 30 by-elections.
Factional differences are blamed for the delay in selecting the candidates.
NC spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma informed that Khem Raj Paudel, Jeet Sherchan, Keshab Acharya and Krishna Bhandel were the official candidates of the NC for the House of Representatives from Kaski-2, State Assemblies from Baglung 2 (B), Dang 3 (B) and Bhaktapur 1 (A) respectively.
Acharya began his career in politics during BP Koirala’s leadership and faced relinquishment of all his property.
Party president Sher Bahadur Deuba picked the candidates after the party office-bearers meeting failed to reach a conclusion due to factional differences.
NC senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel, leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula, general secretary Dr. Shashanka Koirala and Treasurer Sita Devi Yadav walked out of the meeting held at party chief Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha showing their disagreement to Deuba’s proposal.
“We left the meeting giving our suggestions to the party president. We suggested the president should take the decision,” NC general secretary Dr. Koirala said.
NC spokesperson Sharma, however, said that the meeting of the office-bearers authorised party president Deuba to pick the candidates.
Earlier, the NC Central Working Committee meeting had given responsibility to the office-bearers to pick the party candidates.
Paudel was picked as the NC candidate for Kaski-2, after youth leader Dhan Raj Gurung informed the meeting that he was not willing to contest the polls from Kaski-2.
The Kaski District

Committee of the NC had forwarded names of 16 candidates for the House of Representatives to the Central Working Committee.
The Kaski seat has remained vacant after the demise of Rabindra Adhikari in a chopper crash in February this year.
Ruling Nepal Communist Party has fielded Bidhya Bhattarai, widow of late Adhikari, in the same constituency.