Himal Press 
BUTWAL: An interesting contest is brewing up in Palpa-2 constituency. Former party colleagues Som Prasad Pandey and Thakur Gaire are facing each other in the election for the House of Representatives.
Both Pandey and Gaire were in the same faction of CPN-UML. After the party split, Pandey joined CPN (Unified Socialist) led by Madhav Kumar Nepal, while Gaire decided to stay with UML even though he opposed the dissolution of parliament by KP Sharma Oli.
Gaire was once a trusted lieutenant of Pandey in Palpa and spearheaded his election campaigns in the past.
The young communist leader emerged in the Nepali political scene from student politics like Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa and Unified Socialist’s Ram Kumari Jhankri. The trio gave up student politics and joined party politics almost at the same time. Of these three, Thapa has been elected to the House of Representatives thrice and also became minister once. Jhankri too has served as a minister once. But Gaire is contesting the election for the first time.
Party split has brought Gaire an unprecedented opportunity. He wouldn’t have received the ticket to contest the election had Pandey not joined the splitting faction to form a new party. Though Gaire is riding on UML’s strong organization in the district, Pandey, who is in the political scene for the past three decades, has the support of ruling coalition partners Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center) and Rastriya Jana (RJM).
Pandey, the common candidate of the ruling coalition, is contesting his sixth election. He won four of the five elections – in 1994, 1999, 2013 and 2017 – that he has contested. In the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, he was defeated by Maoist candidate Lila Somai. He served as the Minister for Industry after the 2013 election.
Local body election results
Votes received by ward chairpersons in the local body election held in March show UML is the strongest party in the constituency. UML received 30,066 votes, while NC and Maoist Center received 29,039 and 4,313 votes, respectively.
Though Pandey’s party, Unified Socialist received only 433 votes, he has the backing of NC and Maoist Center. The combined votes received by the ruling coalition in the local body election is 3,219 more than the votes received by UML.
Talking to Himal Press, Pandey said his contribution to the development of Palpa during his previous parliamentary stints will help him win the election. “I have been with the people of Palpa through thick and thin. I have initiated development works in the district. I am certain of winning,” he added.
Stating that the former mayor of Tansen Municipality, Ashok Kumar Shahi, recently deserted UML to join Unified Socialist, Pandey said it is now easier for him. According to Poudel, 25 UML leaders under the leadership of province committee member Krishna GC joined Unified Socialist recently.
But UML’s district chairman Dhanendra Ghimire said his party’s strong organization will help Gaire win the election. “People were looking for a fresh face in this constituency. We have given what the people wanted. Therefore, our victory is certain,” he added. He also reminded that UML candidates were victorious in six out of 10 local units in the district.
“Som Prasad Pandey, Ashok Shahi and Laxmi Pathak won the past elections because they were UML candidates. The November 20 election will show their real strengths,” Ghimire said.
Palpa had three constituencies until the 2013 election. Hari Prasad Nepal had won the election in Palpa-3 constituency in 1991 and 2013, while UML candidates Bishnu Poudel Yadav Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kul Prasad Nepal were victorious in 1994, 1999 and 2013. The Palpa-2 constituency includes the areas incorporated by the then Palpa-3 constituency, plus some areas of the then Palpa-2 constituency.
