Election Heat Rises in Solukhumbu, Home to Mount Everest, as 12 Candidates Vie for Single House Seat

Solukhumbu district, home to Mount Everest, is experiencing intense cold, but the political fervor has sharply increased. Twelve candidates are competing this time for the single seat in the House of Representatives in Solukhumbu. Solukhumbu is one of the constituencies where no independent candidates have filed nominations.

This time, Prakash Singh Karki from Nepali Congress, Kalpana Rai from CPN-UML, Asim Rai from the Communist Party of Nepal, and Rishidhan Thulung Rai from Rastriya Swatantra Party are in the electoral contest in this district.

BS Rai from Shram Sanskriti Party, Rajendra Basnet from Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Lakpa Sherpa from Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Pemba Chhiri Sherpa from Ujyalo Nepal Party, Kamal Bahadur Magar from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Man Kumar Gurung from Mongol National Organization, Shridhwaj Tamang from Miteri Party Nepal, and Gunaraj F Bhattarai from Aam Janata Party are also in the electoral competition.

Looking at the initial post-democracy situation, this district was known as a stronghold of the Congress, which won continuously in the elections from 2048 to 2056 BS, following the famous 'Timurbote Incident' of 2031 BS.

Since then, the situation appears mixed. In the 2064 election, Maoist Centre won, while in 2070 BS, Congress again secured victory from this constituency. In 2074, Hemkumar Rai of Maoist Centre won, and in 2079 BS, Manbir Rai of CPN-UML won from this seat.

What are the Candidate Profiles?

Prakash Singh Karki, the candidate from the Congress, is a permanent resident of Nechasalyan Rural Municipality in the district. He is involved in the tourism business and has served as the President of the Nepal Freight Forward Association and a member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

In the party, he is considered close to Gagan Thapa. He was recommended fourth in line for the ticket from the district, and the ticket was given by the central leadership elected through a special convention of the party. This time, Bal Bahadur KC was recommended first, Anggelu Sherpa second, and Binod Basnet third. Although Bal Bahadur KC announced he would not contest, the other two aspirants tried until the end but did not get the ticket.

His strongest aspect is that his main competitor belongs to the same community. In this constituency, where Khas-Arya communities make up nearly 35 percent, he is the sole candidate from this community among the major parties.

Karki's main challenge is to unite the organization above factional politics and retain the votes loyal to the Congress. It was concluded in previous elections that they lost due to internal sabotage. Additionally, it seems difficult for him to attract independent votes due to the atmosphere leaning towards the RSP.

CPN-UML has fielded a female candidate, Kalpana Rai, from Solukhumbu this time. She was the Deputy Mayor of Solududhkunda Municipality in the previous term. CPN-UML has nominated a candidate from the Rai community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the votes in this constituency, to maintain that vote bank. Incidentally, Manbir Rai from CPN-UML had won from this constituency in the previous election.

Being from the district headquarters, which has the largest population among the seven local levels, her district-wide networking is her strongest asset. Her access to grassroots people through her work at the local level is also seen as a strong point.

The CPN-UML received the highest 15,705 votes in proportional representation, followed by Congress with 10,473 votes, Maoist Centre with 8,534 votes, and RASP with 1,135 votes. Janata Samajbadi Party received 958 votes.

The Communist Party of Nepal, which is weak in most parts of the country, is considered another strong contender here. Asim Rai is the candidate from that party, who resigned from his position as Chairman of Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality to enter the electoral arena. His entry into the field with a year and a half of his local term remaining indicates his potential. His personal influence in the district is considered good, so it is assessed that Asim can attract floating votes outside the party's organizational base.

However, the weak base of the party and the fact that the CPN-UML candidate is also from the same community pose the biggest challenge for him: the possibility of vote splitting.

Rishidhan Thulung Rai is the candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which has emerged as an alternative force in this district. He is a permanent resident of the Tingla area, which is also the site where the Timurbote Incident occurred.

His biggest strength is the national influence seen by the party. Having studied up to the doctoral level, he is likely to be chosen by the intellectual class, but he faces the challenge of having little grassroots exposure and the splitting of votes from his own community.

Similarly, BS Rai is the candidate from the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang. He is a former Police Sub-Inspector (ASI). He was previously defeated in the ward chairman election.

Past Influence Analysis

In the previous House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections, CPN-UML won all seats in this district. Manbir Rai won the House of Representatives seat, while Uttam Kumar Basnet and Buddhi Kumar Rajbhandari were elected to the Provincial Assembly (A).

In proportional representation, CPN-UML received the highest 15,705 votes, followed by Congress with 10,473 votes, Maoist Centre with 8,534 votes, and RASP with 1,135 votes. Janata Samajbadi Party received 958 votes.

Based on the local level elections, Congress shows dominance in 4 out of the 7 local levels in the district. Among the local levels in the district, CPN-UML won the chairpersons of Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality and Mapya Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality, and Maoist Centre won the chairperson of Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality, while Congress won the remaining 4 local levels.