Nepali Congress leads Karnali election results

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT,Karnali, Mar. 9: Nepali Congress has emerged as the largest party in Karnali Province in the House of Representatives elections, even as the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has dominated the results in other parts of the country.

Out of the 12 constituencies in Karnali, the Nepali Congress secured five seats to become the largest party in the province. The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won four constituencies, while CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) secured one seat each.

From the Nepali Congress, Bishnu Bahadur Khadka was elected from Surkhet-1, Basana Thapa from Dailekh-1, Khadga Bahadur Budha from Jajarkot, Jayapati Rokaya from Humla and Khadka Bahadur Shahi from Mugu. Basana Thapa, elected from Dailekh-1, has become the only woman Member of Parliament elected from Karnali this time.

From the Nepali Communist Party, Mahendra Bahadur Shahi won from Kalikot, Dhan Bahadur Budha from Dolpa, Ramesh Kumar Malla from Salyan and Gopal Sharma from Rukum West.

Similarly, Laxmi Prasad Pokharel of the CPN-UML was elected from Dailekh-2, Ramesh Kumar Sapkota of RSP won from Surkhet-2 and Gyan Bahadur Shahi of RPP was elected from Jumla.

In Surkhet-1, Nepali Congress candidate Bishnu Bahadur Khadka defeated CPN-UML candidate Dhruva Kumar Shahi by 8,007 votes. Khadka secured 26,897 votes while Shahi received 18,890 votes. RSP candidate Tek Bahadur Singh came third with 14,729 votes. Out of 122,902 registered voters in the constituency, 68,710 votes were cast. Among them, 66,227 were valid votes, and 2,483 were invalid.

In Surkhet-2, RSP candidate Ramesh Kumar Sapkota won the election with 30,378 votes. Nepali Congress candidate Koirala received 16,996 votes while CPN-UML candidate Kulmani Devkota secured 12,891 votes. Both Khadka and Sapkota were elected in their first attempt.

In Dailekh-2, CPN-UML candidate Laxmi Prasad Pokharel won the election with 13,889 votes. His nearest rival, Nepali Congress candidate Dikpal Kumar Shahi, received 9,552 votes while Nepali Communist Party candidate Yogendra Bahadur Shahi secured 3,851 votes. RSP candidate Bakhat Bahadur Shahi received 6,797 votes, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party candidate Bakhat Bahadur Thapa received 1,512 votes, and Nepali Communist Party candidate Kalam Singh received 337 votes. According to the District Election Office, a total of 21 candidates from different political parties and independent groups contested the election in the district.

In Salyan, Nepali Communist Party candidate Ramesh Kumar Malla was elected with 23,189 votes. His closest rival, RSP candidate Lalit Kumar Chand, secured 20,904 votes. Nepali Congress candidate Kesh Bahadur Bista received 17,558 votes while CPN-UML candidate Gulab Jung Shah secured 15,373 votes. 

Out of 162,449 registered voters in the district, 83,167 votes were cast of which 79,709 were valid. According to the Chief Election Officer’s Office, 3,458 votes were invalid. 

In Humla, Nepali Congress candidate Jayapati Rokaya was elected after the vote counting concluded late Saturday night. Rokaya secured 8,797 votes, defeating his closest rival, NCP candidate Dr. Dipendra Rokaya, by a margin of 1,554 votes. Dr. Rokaya received 7,243 votes.

In Rukum West, Nepali Communist Party candidate Gopal Sharma was elected with 21,609 votes. He defeated Nepali Congress candidate Raju KC by a margin of 4,948 votes. KC received 16,661 votes. Progressive Democratic Party candidate Janardan Sharma came third with 14,346 votes.

In Mugu, Nepali Congress candidate Khadka Bahadur Shahi won the election from the district’s only constituency with 7,914 votes. He defeated CPN-UML candidate Purna Bahadur Rokaya by 1,196 votes. Rokaya received 6,718 votes. According to the District Election Office, the results were officially confirmed after the completion of vote counting.