Some 1,000 leaders and cadres of UCPN (Maoist) and CPN-Maoist Thursday joined the CPN-UML amid a function held at the UML’s headquarters at Balkhu, Kathmandu.

“All new entrants are from Bajura, a hilly district in the far-west region,” Karna Bahadur Thapa, central committee member of UML told Nepalnews.

“With such an en masse entry into UML, our party has secured one seat from Bajura for the upcoming elections of the second Constituent Assembly,” said Thapa, who stood second in the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008 but lost with narrow margin to a Nepali Congress candidate.

The UCPN (Maoist)’s Bajura district secretariat member, Jaya Bir Buda and 350 others joined the UML.

Similarly, the CPN-Maoist’s district level leader, Min Bahadur Bista and 50 others entered the UML. Bista was the candidate of the then CPN-Maoist for the first Constituent Assembly election in 2008. He stood third in the election with 13,000 votes.

Dambar Sunar, the former company vice-commander of then Maoist combatants also joined UML along with 150 cadres. UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and other top leaders welcomed the new entrants, who were around 1,000 in total, according to Thapa. Nepalnews.com / Kishor Poudel