Partial Election Results Show Shifting Dynamics in Karnali Province, Nepal

Surkhet. Results are rapidly coming in for 9 out of the 12 constituencies across the 10 districts of Karnali Province.

Vote counting is underway in all districts except the Himalayan districts of Mugu, Dolpa, and Humla. Kalikot began counting the earliest, starting Friday morning. Counting in Rukum West, Salyan, and Jajarkot began only in the afternoon, while counting in Jumla, Surkhet's 2 constituencies, and Dailekh's 2 constituencies started before noon.

The vote counting process is significantly delayed. Looking at the status of each constituency, less than 50 percent of the cast votes have been counted so far.

According to the results and details available by 4 PM across the 9 federal parliamentary constituencies, the Nepali Congress has taken the lead in Surkhet-1, Dailekh-1, and Jajarkot. Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has managed to lead only in Dailekh-2, while the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has established a lead in Surkhet-2.

The CPN (Maoist Centre) has taken the lead in Salyan and Kalikot, while the RPP is leading in Jumla. The Janamat Party (Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party - PrLoPa) is leading in Rukum West.

Strong Presence of RSP

Karnali is traditionally a stronghold for established political parties. However, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is making a formidable appearance in this election. In one of the 9 constituencies, Surkhet-2, the RSP has overtaken both the Congress and the UML to take the lead.

With nearly 7,000 votes counted, RSP's Ramesh Kumar Sapkot is leading with 1,974 votes. CPN-UML's Kulmani Devkota has received 1,917 votes, and Congress's Narayan Koirala has received 1,663 votes.

CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Jhak Bahadur Malla has secured 1,280 votes. While Congress initially led here, followed by the UML, the RSP began leading after 3 PM. The RSP is also competing for the second position in Dailekh-1 and Salyan, and is in third place in Surkhet-1 and Dailekh-2.

It is attempting to move up to second place.

Shakti Basnet Trailing, Prabhakar's Influence Remains

Former Home Minister Shakti Basnet is in third place in Jajarkot. Congress candidate Khadga Bahadur Buda and UML candidate Dambar Singh have surpassed CPN (Maoist Centre)'s candidate Basnet. According to the counting that began in West Jajarkot, Congress's Buda has 1,141 votes, UML's Singh has 381, and CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Basnet has 223 votes. The RSP is in fourth place.

However, in Rukum West, the influence of Janardan Sharma 'Prabhakar' of the Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party (PrLoPa) remains intact. He has been leading there since the beginning.

With nearly 3,000 votes counted, PrLoPa's Sharma has 1,172 votes, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Gopal Sharma has 864, Congress's Raju KC has 513, and the RSP has 109 votes. The contest in Rukum West is a battle of prestige. After Prabhakar did not join the unification and formed a separate party, this has become a prestige battle between him and Prachanda. Prachanda has pulled Janardan's disciple Gopal to his side to contest the election from the CPN (Maoist Centre).

Congress Maintains Continuous Lead in Surkhet-1 and Dailekh-1

The Congress has maintained its continuous lead in Surkhet-1 and Dailekh-1. Congress has been leading in these areas since the start.

According to the latest vote count in Dailekh-1, with 12,475 votes counted, Congress's Basna Thapa is leading with 4,419 votes, while UML's Rabindra Sharma is limited to second place with 3,471 votes.
Previously, RSP's Nandkishor Basnet had overtaken him. He has now reclaimed the second position.

Basnet has received 2,949 votes. CPN (Maoist Centre)'s recognized leader Amar Thapa is limited to fourth place with 400 votes.

Meanwhile, in Surkhet-1, Congress's Bishnu Kumar Khadka is ahead by a margin of nearly 1,000 votes. According to the latest results, he has received 2,510 votes, while UML's Dhruv Kumar Shahi is second with 1,654 votes, and RSP's Tek Bahadur Singh is third with 1,442 votes.
The CPN (Maoist Centre) is limited to fourth place here.

Weak Performance by UML

Based on the results so far, the UML has shown a weak performance in Karnali. It has only managed to lead in Dailekh-2, where the party's Laxmi Prasad Pokharel is ahead with 942 votes.
Congress's Dikpal Shahi has 597, RSP's Bakhat Shahi has 241, and CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Yogendra Shahi has 227 votes. A significant number of votes were found to be invalid here. Out of nearly 2,500 votes counted, 237 were declared invalid.

CPN (Maoist Centre) in Salyan and Kalikot, RPP in Jumla

In Salyan, with 2,530 votes counted, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Ramesh Malla is continuously ahead with 1,084 votes. Surprisingly, RSP's Lalit Kumar Chand has overtaken the UML and Congress here. He received 500 votes, while Congress's Keshab Bahadur Bista received 472 and UML's Gulabjung Shah received 319 votes.

In Kalikot, CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate and former Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi is in the lead by a margin of nearly a thousand votes. He has received 7,017 votes, while UML's Nagendra Shahi has received 6,068 votes. Congress's Hars Bahadur Bam has received 4,985 votes, and Biplav Maoist's Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma 'Prakanda' has only received 2,880 votes so far.

The contest in Kalikot was highly anticipated between Prakanda and Mahendra. In Kalikot, where a battle of prestige was expected between the two former colleagues, Prakanda could not even become a competitor to Mahendra.

Meanwhile, in Jumla, RPP's Gyan Bahadur Shahi (Gyanendra) is continuously leading by a double-digit margin. Although CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Naresh Bhandari is attempting to follow him, he has not been able to catch up.