Ambika Basnet

Ambika Basnet
अम्विका बस्नेत
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
22 December 2022 – 12 September 2025
PresidentRam Chandra Poudel
Prime MinisterPushpa Kamal Dahal
KP Sharma Oli
PR group
Khas Arya (Women)
ConstituencyNepali Congress PR list
Minister of Co-operatives and Poverty Alleviation
In office
26 July 2017[1] – 15 February 2018
PresidentBidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime MinisterSher Bahadur Deuba
Preceded byHridaya Ram Thani
Succeeded byLilanath Shrestha
Member of the Legislature Parliament
In office
21 January 2014 – 14 October 2017
PR group
Khas Arya (Women)
ConstituencyNepali Congress PR list
Central Committee Member, Nepali Congress
In office
16 December 2021 – 14 January 2026
PresidentSher Bahadur Deuba
In office
7 March 2016 – 15 December 2021
PresidentSher Bahadur Deuba
In office
21 September 2010[2][3] – 6 March 15 2016
PresidentSushil Koirala
President of the Nepal Woman Association
In office
23 May 2007[4] – 20 September 2011[5][6]
PresidentGirija Prasad Koirala,
Sushil Koirala
Preceded byMina Pandey
Succeeded byDila Sangraula
Personal details
Born (1951-01-21) 21 January 1951
Siphal, Kathmandu, Nepal
PartyNepali Congress
Parents
  • Shiva Dhwoj Basnet (father)
  • Kapil Kumari Basnet (mother)

Ambika Basnet (Nepali: अम्विका बस्नेत) is a Nepalese politician affiliated with the Nepali Congress. She served as a member of Nepal's Federal Parliament after being elected in the 2022 Nepalese general election as a proportional representative from the Khas community category[7][8]. She also served as Minister of Co-operatives and Poverty Alleviation in the cabinet led by Sher Bahadur Deuba.[9] Basnet was also a member of Nepal's Constituent Assembly and participated in the constitution-drafting process.

Early life and political activism

Basnet comes from a politically active family. Her grandfather, Makardhwaj Basnet, and her father were involved in politics during the Rana regime and later opposed King Mahendra after the dissolution of Nepal's democratic system in 1960. Inspired by her family's political background and the democratic movement led by B. P. Koirala and the Nepali Congress, Basnet entered politics in the early 1970s.[10]

She began working for the Nepali Congress in Kathmandu in 1972 during the period when political parties were banned in Nepal. During the 1985 Satyagraha movement, she was arrested and imprisoned for nearly seven months along with other democratic leaders including Ganesh Man Singh and Mangala Devi Singh.[10]

Constituent Assembly

Basnet later became a member of Nepal's Constituent Assembly, where she participated in the constitution-drafting process. In the Committee for Determining the Structure of Constitutional Bodies, she advocated for the Women's Commission to be established as a constitutional commission. She also supported equal citizenship rights for sons and daughters and promoted inclusion for women, Janajatis, Dalits, and other marginalized communities.[10]

She was also associated with the Women's Caucus in the Constituent Assembly, which worked to raise issues relating to women's rights, citizenship, and domestic violence within the legislature and constitution-drafting process.[10]

Electoral History

In the 2017 general election, Basnest contested the House of Representatives seat from Kathmandu 3 as a candidate of the Nepali Congress. She was defeated by Krishna Bahadur Rai by a margin of 4,285 votes, receiving 19,169 votes against Rai's 14,884 votes.[11]

Elections Parliament of Nepal Constituency Political party Result Vote percentage Opposition
Candidate Political party Vote percentage
2017 5th Kathmandu 3 NC Lost 39.7% Krishna Bahadur Rai CPN(UML) 51.1%

References

  1. ^ "Who are three female ministers in cabinet?". 26 July 2017.
  2. ^ Krishna Prasad Sitaula (28 August 2010). "नेपाली कांग्रेस १२ औं महाधिवेशन निर्वाचन परिणाम" [Nepali Congress 12th General Convention Election Results]. nepalicongress.org (Press release) (in Nepali). Publicity Committee, 12th General Convention of the Nepali Congresss. Archived from the original on 2011-03-01.
  3. ^ "Central Working Committee". nepalicongress.org. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-16.
  4. ^ "नेपाल महिला संघको दोस्रो राष्ट्रिय महाधिवेशन (२०६४) बाट निर्वाचित केन्द्रीय सभापति सुश्री अम्बिका बस्नेत" [Ambika Basnet Elected Central President at Nepal Women’s Association’s Second National General Convention (2064 B.S.)]. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  5. ^ "NC central committee dissolves 4 sister wings". myRepublica. Retrieved 2011-09-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "देउवा पक्षका सदस्यहरूको बहिस्कारबीच चार भ्रातृ संस्था विघटनको निर्णय" [Four sister organizations dissolved amid boycott by Deuba faction members] (in Nepali). Archived from the original on 2026-05-18. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  7. ^ "Election Commission Nepal" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  8. ^ "Nepali Congress recommends 32 names as proportional representational lawmakers". Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  9. ^ "Cooperative has significant role in poverty alleviation: Minister Basnet". Setopati. 2018-01-04.
  10. ^ a b c d Women Members of the Constituent Assembly: A Study on Contribution and Challenges (PDF). International IDEA. 2012-01-01. p. 109. ISBN 978-91-86565-35-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-29.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ^ "CPN-UML's Rai elected in Kathmandu-3". The Kathmandu Post. 9 December 2017.