Ambika Basnet () 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. She also served as Minister of Co-operatives and Poverty Alleviation in the cabinet led by Sher Bahadur Deuba. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ElectionsParliament of NepalConstituencyPolitical partyResultVote percentageOppositionCandidatePolitical partyVote percentage2017 5th Kathmandu 3NC 39.7%Krishna Bahadur RaiCPN(UML)51.1%
References