CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel Contests House of Representatives Election for Fifth Time Amidst Political Challenges

Kathmandu. CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel is entering the electoral arena for the fifth time in the House of Representatives election. Pokharel began his parliamentary journey in the 2051 election by defeating established Nepali Congress leader Deepak Giri from the erstwhile Dang Constituency No. 3. Since then, up until the 2079 election, he has failed to win a single federal election in 31 years. He was defeated by Congress leader Krishnakishore Ghimire in the 2056 election. In the 2064 Constituent Assembly election, when CPN-Maoist had a widespread dominance, Pokharel became a proportional representation MP.

In the second Constituent Assembly election held in 2070, he was defeated by Congress leader Buddhiram Bhandari. In 2074, Pokharel was elected to the Lumbini Provincial Assembly from the Left Alliance formed by the then UML and Maoist Centre. He succeeded in becoming the Chief Minister of Lumbini Province for about 42 months. After the restructuring of the state in 2073, CPN-Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara won from Dang-2. In the 2079 election, Pokharel was defeated by the Congress-Maoist alliance candidate Rekha Sharma by a margin of 193 votes.

Pokharel is under pressure to secure a victory in the election scheduled for Falgun 21, following the 'Genji Rebellion' in Bhadra. During the Genji Rebellion, the UML Chairman KP Oli, who became Prime Minister from the Congress-UML alliance, was accused of killing 23 'Genjis' and failing to protect the nation's historical heritage Singha Durbar, the Supreme Court, Parliament Building, party offices, leaders' private residences, business establishments, and private and public properties across the country. It is estimated that Pokharel's candidacy could become more precarious given that UML has put Oli, who was ousted from power on the strength of the Genji Rebellion, forward as the future Prime Ministerial candidate.

A confidant of Oli, he was re-elected as General Secretary for a second term in the 11th General Convention of the CPN-UML held in the last week of Mangsir. Pokharel's candidacy is being watched with great interest as the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), established as a new party, is gaining momentum nationwide. Pokharel is being challenged this time by RSP's Co-General Secretary Bipin Kumar Acharya. Acharya is contesting an election for the first time. Known as a modest and intellectual leader within RSP, he aims to enter the House of Representatives by winning the contest. In this constituency, besides Pokharel and Acharya, Congress's Kiran Kishore Ghimire and CPN (UML) leader Nirmal Acharya are also in the electoral fray.

While the Congress, UML, and CPN contested in electoral alliances—leftist in 2074 and left-democratic in 2079—they are competing individually this time and are strategizing to secure the results in their favor. RSP is looking to capitalize on the unpopularity resulting from being in power multiple times. Amidst leadership changes within the Congress just before the election, Oli's unilateral takeover of the party in the 11th General Convention, and the exclusion of the dissenting faction from ticket distribution, CPN-UML is banking on securing victory with the support of disgruntled factions within the party.

However, Pokharel is confident of winning because the Biplav-led CPN (Maoist) has not fielded a candidate in Dang-2, supporting the UML, and an agreement has been reached for Janardan Sharma's party, the Progressive Democratic Party (Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party), which split from CPN, to support the UML in Dang.

In the previous election, Maoist candidate Rekha Sharma won by securing 26,880 votes. Her rival Pokharel received 26,687 votes. RSP's Bishal Adhikari secured 15,861 votes. RPP's Bholanath Yogi received 2,273 votes, while others garnered a total of 2,829 votes.

In the proportional representation category in this constituency, UML is leading with 23,568 votes. Congress is in second place with 19,591 votes, and RSP is in third place with 13,033 votes. Maoist secured 10,820, RPP 3,095, and Unified Socialist 782 votes, ranking fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. There are 140,965 voters in Dang-2 for the upcoming election.