Lalitpur-2 Electoral Battleground: Mahajan and Shakya Dominance in Constituency History

Kathmandu. In Lalitpur's Constituency No. 2, CPN-UML has won 5 out of the 7 elections held since 2048 BS. Nepali Congress and Maoists have each won one election.

Even with party changes, the winning candidates have only belonged to one caste and two surnames. Since 048 BS, no candidate other than Mahajan and Shakya has been elected or been the closest competitor here.

In the 048 BS election, CPN-UML candidate Siddhilal Singh Mahajan was elected, while Nepali Congress candidate Marshaljulum Shakya was the closest competitor.

In 051 BS, when UML candidate Siddhilal won, Congress candidate Chandra Mahajan was the closest competitor. According to Election Commission records, in the 056 BS election, UML candidate Krishnalal Mahajan won, with Congress candidate Jagatram Shakya as the closest competitor.

In the first Constituent Assembly election of 064 BS, this constituency escaped the grip of UML. Then CPN (Maoist) candidate Rajkaji Mahajan won, with Congress candidate Chandra Mahajan as the closest competitor. UML came in third.

In the second Constituent Assembly election of 070 BS, Congress opened its account for the first time since 048 BS. Congress candidate Chandra Mahajan secured the win on his third attempt, while Maoist candidate Saroj Singh was the closest competitor.

In the 074 BS election, UML reversed its losses from 064 and 070 BS, regaining its victory. UML candidate Krishnalal Mahajan secured his second win, with Congress candidate Chandra Mahajan as the closest competitor.

In the 2079 House of Representatives election, UML candidate Prem Bahadur Mahajan was elected, while Hamro Nepali Party candidate Sudin Shakya was the closest competitor.

Ramkrishna Chitrakar, a leader of the Nepali Congress and a Bagmati Province assembly member and resident of this constituency, states that those elected or who have been the closest competitors have exclusively been from the Shakya and Mahajan surnames.

"Since 048 BS in the House of Representatives elections here, there is no history of anyone other than Shakya and Mahajan within the Newar caste winning or being the closest competitor," Chitrakar told Ratopati. "Candidates from Shakya and Mahajan have won, regardless of which party they represent. They have been the closest competitors."

In the 2079 election, UML candidate Mahajan won with 15,025 votes, while Hamro Nepali Party's Shakya received 8,886 votes.

This constituency includes Mahalakshmi Municipality and Wards 6, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, and 19 of Lalitpur Metropolitan City.

According to Election Officer Samjhana Simkhada Pudasaini, there are 89,082 voters in this constituency. Of these, 43,298 are male voters and 45,784 are female voters, Election Officer Pudasaini informed Ratopati. She added that the election office does not segregate voters based on caste.

For the House of Representatives election scheduled for Falgun 21, both Congress and UML have nominated Mahajans, considering caste dynamics in this constituency. UML has nominated Mahajan, who won the last election, while Congress has nominated Premkrishna Mahajan.

The CPN (Unified Socialist) has nominated Rajendra Amatya, while the Rastriya Swatantra Party has fielded Jagdish Kharel. Kharel, who served as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the interim cabinet formed under former Chief Justice Sushila Karki following the Genji movement on Bhadra 23 and 24 last year, resigned from his ministerial post to join the Rastriya Swatantra Party and secure the ticket for Lalitpur-2.

Pudasaini stated that 23 candidates, including 7 independents, are competing in Lalitpur-2.