noKathmandu — As the date for the House of Representatives election approaches, the police are preparing to deploy high-level police officers in constituencies deemed highly sensitive. In districts where there is competition among “heavyweight” candidates, the deployment of security forces under the leadership of senior police officials (SSPs) is being discussed within the police headquarters.
According to police sources, Jhapa, Sarlahi, and Dolakha have been identified as challenging districts in terms of election security. Other districts in the Terai-Madhes region are also considered risky, and high-ranking officials are being prepared to be deployed there as well.
Among the most sensitive districts, Jhapa has been identified. In Jhapa-5, there is fierce competition between the Chairman of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli, and senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Balendra Shah (Balen). In addition, former Speaker Devaraj Ghimire and former Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar are also candidates in the same district, making the security challenge higher, according to the police’s assessment.
In Sarlahi-4, a tough competition is expected between Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa, RSP’s Amreshkumar Singh, and former Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Similarly, in Dolakha, there have been incidents of booth capturing and clashes in the past, so high-level security supervision is being planned.
According to Police Spokesperson DIG Abinayan Kafle, DSPs and SPs will be directly deployed in the field for election security, while SSPs and higher-ranking officials will oversee overall supervision.
On February 21, the House of Representatives election will be held for 275 seats — 165 for the direct election and 110 through proportional representation. According to the Integrated Security Plan approved by the Central Security Committee, more than 315,000 security personnel, including Nepal Police, Armed Police, Nepal Army, and the National Investigation Department, will be deployed for election security.
