Gulmi, Feb. 1 -- All candidates challenging CPN-UML vice-chair Gokarna Bista in Gulmi-2 are newcomers. Bista, who has been contesting in the area since 1999, has won every election here except in 2008. This year marks his sixth contest, and he is facing first-time competitors for the fifth time.

Bista's main rivals this election include Nepali Congress's Lumbini Province vice-president Bhuwan Prasad Shrestha, Nepali Communist Party central committee member Shreeram Mahat, and Rastriya Swatantra Party's Govinda Panthi. Overall, 22 candidates-10 from political parties and 12 independents-are in the fray.

Previously, Ram Kumari Jhankri of then CPN (Unified Socialist), now with the CPN-UML, contested with the support of the Congress and the...