Candidate watch: Sobita Gautam from Chitwan-3

Sobita Gautam was the youngest directly elected lawmaker in Nepal’s history when she won a seat in the House of Representatives in 2022 at the age of 27.

A lawyer, youth activist, and media professional whose career spans legal practice, parliamentary engagement, and public policy advocacy, Sobita holds an LL.B. from Tribhuvan University and is pursuing an LL.M. in International Law, with a professional focus on constitutional and administrative law. 

Before full-time politics, she hosted the national television program Swasthya Sarokar on Nepal Television for over four years, raising public awareness on health policy, and served on the board of the Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (2018–2021).

Gautam’s political engagement is anchored in governance reform, anti-corruption, youth representation, and legal modernisation. She is a founding central committee member of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), through which she is contesting the 2026 elections in Chitwan-3.

Electoral and legislative record

• Member, House of Representatives (2022–2025): Elected from Kathmandu-2 (now contesting Chitwan-3), the youngest directly elected female lawmaker in Nepal’s history
• Committee memberships: Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee (House of Representatives); Health Committee, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) 150th Assembly
• Key legislative work: Engaged in debates and policy formulation on the land use and management-related amendment bill, civil aviation authority reforms, NRN citizenship and visa rights, assisted reproductive technology regulation, and whistleblower protection.

Policy and legislative identity

Gautam’s legislative agenda emphasises institutional accountability, legal reform, and separation of powers. She advocates barring MPs from serving as ministers and selecting cabinets from a proposed National Assembly of Experts to reduce political interference in governance.

She has prioritised restructuring the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) by separating regulatory oversight from operational service provision, aiming to improve aviation safety and lift Nepal off the EU air safety blacklist. Her aims also include strengthening whistleblower protections, investigating the “unexplained” wealth of public officials, securing land rights for the landless, and relocating marginalised communities from disaster-prone areas.

At the constituency level, Gautam’s 2026 campaign focuses on agricultural modernisation, including high-tech farming and cold-storage infrastructure, urban-rural connectivity, and sustainable urban planning.

Recognitions and achievements

• Named One Young World’s “Politician of the Year” (2023)
• Vital Voices Fellow (2025), recognised for leadership in gender equality and governance
• Represented Nepal at global health policy forums through the IPU Health Committee

Controversies

• Election expenditure blacklist (2023): Fined NRs 15,000 by the Election Commission and temporarily blacklisted for late submission of election expenditure reports following the 2022 general election.
• In the aftermath of the September protests which saw the dissolution of the House, Gautam was one of the few RSP politicians who protested against the dissolution

Top priority if elected

• Advance legal and governance reform, including splitting CAAN into separate regulatory and service entities
• Introduce amendments to strengthen whistleblower protections
• Advance land rights reform for the landless

Major concerns

• Lack of institutional accountability and corruption within governance structures
• Aviation safety and regulatory overlap within CAAN
• Limited youth representation in governance and development initiatives

Previous experiences that best prepare her for the role

• Serving as a Member of Parliament and a member of the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee
• Legal practice specialising in constitutional and administrative law
• International engagement on health policy through the IPU Health Committee
• Media and youth advocacy through national television programming and AYON board membership

Top five legislative priorities for amendment

• Split CAAN into separate regulatory and service entities to ensure aviation safety
• Provide permanent land titles for landless populations and relocate vulnerable communities from disaster-prone areas
• Introduce mechanisms to investigate the “unexplained” wealth of public officials since 1990
• Recognise same-sex marriage and modernise reproductive rights legislation
• Introduce citizen-focused electoral reforms, including Recall Elections and the Right to Reject (No Vote)