BUTWAL: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured a historic victory in Lumbini Province, winning 21 out of the total 26 seats in the province in the House of Representatives elections held last week.
The RSP made a clean sweep in eight out of the 12 districts in the province. Among traditionally dominant parties in the province, the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won two each, while the CPN-UML won only one.
RSP candidates were elected from both constituencies in Nawalparasi West, all five in Rupandehi, both in Gulmi, all three in Dang, one each in Arghakhanchi, Pyuthan and Palpa, two each in Kapilvastu and Banke, and both constituencies in Bardiya.
The NC won in Kapilvastu-3 and Palpa-1, while the NCP retained its legacy in former Maoist heartlands of Rukum and Rolpa. NCP Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal and influential leader Barshaman Pun registered comfortable wins in Rukum East and Rolpa, respectively. Similarly, NC’s Abhishek Pratap Shah and Sandeep Rana were elected from Kapilvastu-3 and Palpa-1, respectively.
The UML suffered heavy losses in Lumbini, with several of its key leaders, including two vice chairpersons and the general secretary, defeated in their traditional strongholds. CPN-UML’s only victory in the province came in Banke-2, where Mohammad Istiyaq Rai won the election. Rai had switched to UML from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) shortly before the election.
Several leaders who had been winning elections in the province for years were defeated this time. UML Vice Chairperson and former finance minister Paudel lost by a wide margin to Sulabh Kharel of the RSP in Rupandehi-2. Kharel defeated Paudel by more than 43,000 votes.
Other prominent leaders who faced defeats include UML Vice Chairperson Gokarna Bista, leader Pradeep Gyawali, former minister and NCP leader Som Prasad Pandey, NC’s former Joint General Secretary Kishor Singh Rathaur, and NC’s Lumbini Province President Amar Singh Pun, among others.
The UML suffered heavy losses in Lumbini, with several of its key leaders, including two vice chairpersons and the general secretary, defeated in their traditional strongholds.
The election results mark the first time in history that the established parties have suffered such a major defeat in the province. RSP, on the other hand, recorded landslide victories in some constituencies. RSP General Secretary Sunil Lamsal was elected from Rupandehi-1. Similarly, Dr Lekh Jung Thapa, a candidate with a medical background, won from Rupandehi-3 by more than 50,000 votes. Thapa received 58,814 votes, while his rival Sushil Gurung got 8,435 votes.
RSP candidates Bikram Khanal and Narendra Gupta were elected from Nawalparasi West-1 and Nawalparasi West-2, respectively. Similarly, Sunil Lamsal was elected from Rupandehi-1, Sulabh Kharel from Rupandehi-2, Dr Lekhjang Thapa from Rupandehi-3, Kanhaiya Baniyan from Rupandehi-4, and Taufiq Ahmed Khan from Rupandehi-5. Likewise, Mohanlal Acharya and Bikram Singh Thapa were elected from Kapilvastu-1 and Kapilvastu-2, respectively.
RSP candidate Madhav Bahadur Thapa was elected from Palpa-2, Sagar Dhakal from Gulmi-1, Govinda Panthi from Gulmi-2, Har Prasad Bhusal from Arghakhanchi, Suresh Kumar Chaudhary from Banke-1, Khagendra Sunar from Banke-3, Devraj Pathak from Dang-1, Bipin Kumar Acharya from Dang-2, Kamal Subedi from Dang-3, Shreedhar Pokharel from Bardiya-2 and Sushant Baidik from Pyuthan.
