Sunsari Constituency-1: 26 Candidates Vie for Seat Amidst High-Profile Contests

Ratopati January 27, 2026

There are 26 candidates, including those from various parties and independents, contesting in Sunsari Constituency Number 1 for the House of Representatives election.

Sunsari-1 is anticipated to witness a multi-party competition. This constituency, which encompasses all wards of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City, Wards 1 to 5 of Barahakshetra Municipality, and Wards 6 and 7 of Ramdhuni Municipality, is drawing significant attention due to Harka Raj Rai (Sampang).

Harka Raj Rai was elected as the Mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City as an independent candidate in the 2079 local level elections. Rai secured 20,821 votes. Similarly, Kishore Rai of the Nepali Congress received 16,059 votes.

In that election, there was an alliance between the Nepali Congress and the then CPN (Maoist Centre). CPN-UML's Manju Bhandari Subedi received 12,825 votes for the Mayor position.

Harka Raj Rai has now resigned from the Mayor post and is aiming to enter parliamentary politics. In this pursuit, he has chosen Sunsari Constituency Number 1, which includes all wards of Dharan Municipality, which he considers his stronghold, for his candidacy. He is contesting in this constituency from the Labor Culture Party, which he formed under his leadership.

Sunsari-1 has Tikaram Limbu as the candidate for CPN-UML. Similarly, Sujendra Tamang is the candidate from the Nepali Congress, Suryabahadur Bhattarai from the Communist Party of Nepal, and Goma Tamang, the previous election's contender, is the candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party.

In the House of Representatives election held in 2079, Ashok Rai, the candidate from JSP Nepal, was elected from this constituency. When allied with CPN-UML, Rai received 17,059 votes, while his closest competitor, Goma Tamang of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, received 16,606 votes.

CPN-UML has nominated Tikaram Limbu as its candidate in Sunsari-1. Similarly, Sujendra Tamang is the candidate from the Nepali Congress, Suryabahadur Bhattarai from the Communist Party of Nepal, and Goma Tamang, the previous election's contender, is the candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party.

The Election Commission has stated that there are 150,393 voters in Sunsari-1 for the upcoming House of Representatives election.

Whether Harka Raj Rai will bring a miraculous result in the parliamentary election, as he did in the local elections, or if Goma Tamang, who lost by a narrow margin despite the alliance between UML-JSP Nepal, will secure the result in her favor this time, is a matter of interest.

On the other hand, it appears difficult to predict who will win in Sunsari-1 as the established and traditional parties like the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, RPP, and the Communist Party of Nepal are entering the competition without alliances.