Nepal, Dec. 31 -- Nepali Communist Party (NCP) leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been recommended as a candidate for the March poll from 11 constituencies across 10 districts for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5. Although he is the first-choice candidate under the first-past-the-post system in all these constituencies, he cannot contest from all of them.

This has raised questions about Dahal's strategy: is he seeking a "safe seat" by securing recommendations from multiple constituencies, or is the move aimed at projecting his political popularity? Since forming the NCP by aligning with Madhav Nepal-led CPN (Unified Socialist), Dahal-who had earlier left the Maoist Center-has never had a permanent electoral strongho...