Balen wins Jhapa-5 by huge margin

Kathmandu, Mar. 8: Balendra Shah ‘Balen’, the senior leader of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has been elected to the House of Representatives (HoR) from Jhapa Constituency-5, defeating former Prime Minister and powerful CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli by a huge margin of 49,614 votes.

According to the Election Commission, Shah garnered 68,348 votes, while Oli received 18,734 votes.

Balen, the former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, contested the election against Oli with the determination to defeat the seasoned politician, who had been winning elections from Jhapa constituency since 1990. 

Likewise, Samir Tamang of the Shram Sanskriti Party finished third with 9,233 votes, followed by Mandhara Chimariya of the Nepali Congress (NC) with 1,821 votes.  Laxmi Prasad Sangraula of Rastriya Prajatantra Party with 1,536 votes.

Following the Gen-Z protests on September 8–9, Oli has faced widespread criticism and public backlash over the handling of the movement and the deaths of young protesters. He resigned and flew to a safe place on September 9 last year. 

He looked helpless before Balen in the constituency that was his stronghold in the elections held six months after the fall of his government. 

Oli served as prime minister thrice and led the UML for decades. His defeat by Shah, who is widely seen as representing an alternative political force, reflects growing public frustration over issues such as bad governance and corruption. His defeat is likely to mark the end of his political career.

Likewise, RSP president Rabi Lamichhane has won the election from Chitwan, winning by a margin of 39,838 votes.

Lamichhane secured 54,402 votes, while his closest contender, Mina Kumari Kharel of NC, received 14,564 votes. Ashmin Kharel of the UML finished third with 6,992 votes. 

Lamichhane was first elected to the HoR from Chitwan-2 in 2022, winning by a margin of 34,170 votes. However, he was later suspended over a dual citizenship case. In the April 2023 by-election, he returned with an even stronger mandate, garnering 54,175 votes and defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 43,000 votes.

 Meanwhile, as vote counting continues across the country on Saturday, the RSP has won 73 seats and is leading in 50 of the 165 constituencies under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system as of 10:00 pm on Saturday.

The RSP, which has put forward Balendra Shah as its candidate for prime minister, has swept in Kathmandu, the southern plains, and major urban centres across the country.

The party is maintaining large margins against candidates from established parties such as the Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, and the Nepal Communist Party (NCP).

At the time this report was prepared, the NC had won nine seats and was leading in 10 constituencies, while the CPN-UML had secured three seats and was leading in eight constituencies. The NCP had won three seats and was leading in four constituencies, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) had won one seat.

Similarly, the RSP candidates are leading in several constituencies. The Shram Sanskriti Party, led by Harka Sampang, is leading in three constituencies.

Independent candidate Mahabir Pun has been elected in Myagdi with 22,850 votes, while his close contender of CPN-UML Hari Krishna Shrestha received 7,919 votes.  

Meanwhile, several prominent leaders of the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress (NC) and Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have been defeated by RSP candidates by huge margins, while none of the Madhes-centric parties have secured any seats so far.

SP candidates who own the election

Likewise, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader Swarnim Wagle has emerged victorious from Tanahun–1, securing 38,040 votes. His closest contender, Govinda Bhattarai of the Nepali Congress (NC), received 16,231 votes, followed by Bhagwati Neupane of the CPN-UML with 5,830 votes.

Similarly, Sobita Gautam has won the election from Chitwan–3, defeating former mayor of Chitwan Metropolitan City, Renu Dahal, by a huge margin. Gautam secured 59,277 

votes, while Dahal received 20,615 votes, followed by Tek Prasad Gurung of the Nepali Congress with 8,344 votes.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) secured a clean sweep in all 10 constituencies of Kathmandu and both constituencies of Bhaktapur, defeating several prominent leaders.

RSP’s Sasmit Pokharel emerged victorious in Kathmandu–5, defeating heavyweight leaders from the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML. Pokharel secured 30,737 votes, while Pradip Paudel of the NC finished second with 9,159 votes, followed by Ishwar Pokharel, a senior UML leader and former deputy prime minister, who received 4,701 votes.

Likewise, Ranju Darshana has been elected from Kathmandu-1, Sunil KC from Kathmandu-2, Raju Nath Pandey from Kathmandu-3, Pukar Bam from Kathmandu-4, Sasmit Pokharel from Kathmandu-5, Sishir Khanal from Kathmandu-6, Ganesh Parajuli from Kathmandu-7, Biraj Bhakta from Kathmandu-8, Dol Prasad Aryal from Kathmandu-9 and Pradip from Kathmandu-10. 

Likewise, Rukesh Ranjit emerged victorious from Bhaktapur-1 and Rajib Khatri from Bhaktapur-2. 

Likewise, former Minister and RSP candidate Jagdish Kharel has been elected from Lalitpur-2. The RSP has recorded a remarkable rise in Morang district. Out of the six constituencies in the district, the RSP has already secured victory in three and is leading in the remaining three. 

Rubina Acharya of RSP won the election in Morang-6 with a landslide vote against NC's prominent leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala. Acharya received 55,513 votes, while Koirala received 12850 votes. Asha Jha has won from Morang-5, securing 30,434 votes. Her closest rival Phul Kumar Lalwani of NC received 9,415 votes. while Raj Kumar Yadav of the Janata Samajwadi Party obtained 8,747 votes.

In Morang–4, Santosh Rajbanshi of the RSP also emerged victorious with 40,833 votes. Nepali Congress General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire secured 12,818 votes, while former minister Aman Lal Modi of the Nepal Communist Party received 10,762 votes. All popular candidates from RSP, including vice chairs Dol Prasad Aryal and Swarnim Wagle, and leader Deepak Bohora, have been elected with big margins. 

Nepali Congress 

At the time this news was prepared, the Nepali Congress has own nine seats in the HoR. Santosh Subba of Nepali Congress has own election from Tehrathum-1, Tek Bahadur Gurung from Manag-1, Yogesh GauchanThakali from Mustang-1, Abhishek Pratap Sah from Kapilvastu-3, Khadga Bahadur Buda from Jajarkot-1, Basana Thapa from Dailekh-1, Bishnu Bahadur Khadka from Surkhet-1, Bharat Kumar Swar from Achham-1, Bharat Bahadur Khadka from Doti,  and Sandip Rana from  Palpa-1.  However, NC president Gagan Thapa is trailing behind RSP candidate Amaresh Kumar Singh in Sarlahi-4. 

CPN-UML 

Likewise, the CPN-UML candidates Mohhamad Ishtiyak Rai won the election from Banke-2, Laxmi Prasad Pokharel from Dailekh-2, Ain Bahadur Mahar from Bajhang-1 and Chhitiz Thebe from Taplejung emerged victorious. 

Nepali Communist Party (NCP) 

Similarly, NCP party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has own the election from Rukum East and Barsha Man Pun from Rolpa-1. Prachanda won the election with 10,240 votes, and his closest contender of CPN-UML received 3,462 votes. Likewise, Pun won the election with 27,460 votes, while his closest contender, Sudan Kumar Oli received 10,894 votes. 

Similarly, Gyan Bahadur Shahi, a candidate of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), own the election from Jumla-1. He garnered 14,816 votes, while his closest contender of UML, Naresh Bhandari, received 11,635 votes. He is the only candidate of RPP to win the election. None of the candidate of his party is leading the vote counting.