Independent and New Parties Surge Ahead of Established Figures in Koshi Province Vote Count

Biratnagar. The counting of votes for the House of Representatives election held on Falgun 21 (Thursday) is in full swing. In the vote counting across most constituencies in the Koshi Province, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Shram Sanskriti Party appear to have significantly outperformed the older political parties.

So far, RSP candidates are leading with massive vote margins in all five constituencies of Jhapa. Similarly, RSP candidates are ahead in 6 constituencies of Morang and all 4 constituencies of Sunsari. Furthermore, RSP is leading in Udayapur-1. Apart from these, the Shram Sanskriti Party is leading in Ilam-2, Bhojpur, Udayapur-2, and Panchthar.

In Taplejung, a tough competition is observed between CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN-UML. Bhanubhakta Dhakal, who is also the Secretary of CPN-UML, maintains his lead in Tehrathum. Similarly, CPN-UML is leading in Okhaldhunga and Dhankuta. Vote counting has not yet started in Solukhumbu and Sankhuwasabha. The preliminary results for Ilam-1 and Khotang have not been made public.

RSP candidates, who were not widely known, have managed to defeat major and heavyweight leaders. Among those being surpassed is CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, who is in the first position. RSP's Balen Shah is leading Oli by a margin of nearly 9,000 votes. Furthermore, in Jhapa Constituency No. 2, former Speaker and CPN-UML leader Devraj Ghimire has been left far behind by RSP's Indira Rana, who is the former Deputy Speaker.

In Jhapa Constituency No. 3, RSP's Prakash Pathak is heading towards defeating Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden. In Jhapa-4, RSP's Shambhu Prasad Dhakal is overpowering famous leaders like Congress's Deuman Thebe and CPN-UML's LP Saba.

In Morang Constituency No. 2, former Minister Minendra Rijal of the Nepali Congress, Dr. Sunil Sharma of the Nepali Congress in Morang-3, former Minister Amanlal Modi of CPN (Maoist Centre) in Morang-4, former Minister Shivkumar Mandal of CPN (Maoist Centre) in Morang-5, and even Yogi Mandal, who was previously elected as an independent, have all been significantly trailed by RSP candidates. RSP candidates are Krishna Karki in Morang-2, Ganesh Karki in Morang-3, Santosh Rajbanshi in Morang-4, and Asha Jha in Morang-5. Furthermore, in Morang-6, RSP's Rubina Acharya has significantly outperformed Congress's Dr. Shekhar Koirala.

In Sunsari-1, Sarin Tamang of RSP has overtaken Harka Sampang, the former Mayor of Dharan, who gained nationwide attention. In Sunsari-3, Ashok Chaudhary of RSP has significantly trailed the always-in-the-news Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi and CPN-UML's Bhagwati Chaudhary. In Sunsari-2, RSP's Lalbikram Thapa is in the lead, surpassing Congress's Rajiv Koirala.

The Shram Sanskriti Party has also unexpectedly overtaken CPN-UML's young leader Suhang Nembang in Ilam Constituency No. 2. In Bhojpur, Shram Sanskriti Party's Dhurbaraj Rai has surpassed CPN-UML Secretary Sherdhan Rai and CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Ajambar Rai Kangmang in the preliminary count. Furthermore, in Dhankuta, considered a stronghold of CPN-UML, Shram Sanskriti Party's San Bahadur Rai has surpassed former Minister and CPN-UML leader Rajendra Rai.