Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The victory of Sobita Gautam in Kathmandu-2 has made people in the constituency very excited. The popularity of 27-year-old Gautam, who is the youngest lawmaker to be elected so far, is not limited to her constituency only.
Gautam, a candidate of the newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), was elected Wednesday morning getting 15,229 votes. She contested against former speaker and CPN (Maoist Center) leader Onsari Gharti and CPN-UML’s former Bagmati Province Assembly member Maniram Phuyal. Gharti, 44, is active in politics since the Maoist waged ‘people’s war’ in the 1990s and has been elected to the parliament repeatedly. But Gharti, who was the common candidate of the five-party ruling alliance, was no match to young Gautam.
Kathmandu-2 is the home constituency of CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal. Gharti found the constituency safer for her after Nepal chose to contest from Rautahat. But she finished the vote count in the fourth position behind Gautam, Phuyal and Kunti Pokharel of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). Gharti polled 9,449 votes, while Phuyal and Pokharel received 11,555 and 11,o14 votes, respectively.
Political heavyweights, including CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Unified Socialist’s Madhav Kumar Nepal, had campaigned for Gharti. Dahal went to the extent of saying that Gharti is capable of becoming prime minister. But people in Kathmandu-2 chose not to endorse Gharti who has been active in mainstream politics for more than two decades. She will now remain outside of parliamentary politics for at least five years.
Influential Maoist leader and incumbent Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has also found herself in a similar situation. She finished third in the vote count in Lalitpur-3 behind RSP’s Dr Toshima Karki and CPN-UML’s Amrit Khadka.
Karki received 31,136 votes – nearly four times more than Bhusal who languished in the third position with 8,769 votes.
As per the election results announced on Thursday morning, Karki received 31,136 votes – nearly four times more than Bhusal who languished in the third position with 8,769 votes. UML’s Khadka came second polling 12,963 votes.
Maoist Center, its sister organizations as well four parties of the ruling coalition had campaigned actively for Bhusal in Lalitpur-3. But all these campaigning and strategies failed. Bhusal lost to the previously unheard medical doctor.
Bhusal has enjoyed mainstream politics for nearly three decades. The veteran Maoist leader, who assumed central positions in her even during the insurgency, has held ministerial portfolios repeatedly.
Interestingly, both these veteran women leaders of CPN (Maoist Center) were defeated by young women leaders of RSP. These two leaders were busy with social work before they decided to join RSP. They neither had the support of veteran political leaders nor a strong party organization. Still, they have forced their way into the federal parliament.
