Early Results Show Shifting Dynamics in Karnali Province House Elections

Surkhet. Results are rapidly coming in from 9 of the 12 constituencies across Karnali Province, which comprises 10 districts.

Vote counting has just begun in the Himalayan districts.

Counting has been underway since morning in 9 constituencies across the remaining 7 districts. Kalikot began counting the earliest on Friday morning. Counting started only in the afternoon in Rukum West, Salyan, and Jajarkot, while counting began before noon in Jumla, Surkhet, and Dailekh.

The counting process has been quite slow. Looking at the status of each constituency, less than 70 percent of the total votes cast have been counted so far. According to the results and details available as of the preparation of this news for 9 House of Representatives constituencies, the Nepali Congress is leading in 3 constituencies: Surkhet-1, Dailekh-1, and Jajarkot.

The CPN (Maoist Centre) has taken the lead in Salyan and Kalikot, while the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) is leading in Jumla. Furthermore, the CPN-UML is only leading in Dailekh-2, and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has taken the lead in Surkhet-2.

The CPN (Maoist Centre) is leading in Rukum West.

Strong Presence of RSP

Karnali is traditionally a stronghold of established political parties. However, in this election, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is making a significant appearance. In Surkhet-2 out of the 9 constituencies, the RSP is surprisingly taking a strong lead, astonishing both the Congress and UML.

Initially, the Nepali Congress and subsequently the CPN-UML maintained the lead in the vote counting here. However, for the last 3 hours, RSP's Ramesh Kumar Sapkotta has been leading, surprising both Congress and UML.

According to the latest data from the Chief Election Commission, after counting 13,743 votes, Sapkotta has received 4,254 votes. UML's Kulmani Devkota is in second place with 3,342 votes, and Congress's Narayan Koirala is in third with 3,333 votes.

Here, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Jhak Bahadur Malla has received 1,543 votes, while other smaller political parties have failed to cross 500 votes. Interestingly, in this constituency considered a strong fortress for UML and Congress, these parties did not consider the RSP a competitor.

An UML supporter outside the counting venue at Birendranagar City Hall said, "The RSP's votes came in a surprising manner." According to the current count, the RSP is ahead in many wards of Panchapuri Municipality, where the Nepali Congress has the highest number of votes.

UML candidate Devkota claims that UML will take the lead once counting reaches the capital, Birendranagar. However, it is anticipated that the RSP will increase its vote margin as counting progresses in the urban areas. RSP candidate Sapkotta is a former Congress member.

Similarly, the Congress is competing for second place in Dailekh-1, Salyan, and Surkhet-1.

After Shakti Basnet, 'Prabhakar's' Influence Remains

Former Home Minister Shakti Basnet is in third place in Jajarkot. Congress candidate Khadga Bahadur Buda is in first place with 5,437 votes, UML candidate Dambar Singh is second with 5,418 votes, and CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Basnet is third with 3,788 votes. The RSP is in fourth place here.

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

After counting 8,345 votes, PrLoPa's Sharma has 2,838 votes, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Gopal Sharma has 2,273, Congress's Raju KC has 1,671, and RSP has 532 votes. There is a battle of prestige in Rukum West. After Prabhakar did not join the unification and formed a separate party, there is a battle of prestige between him and Prachanda. Prachanda has pulled Janardan's protégé Gopal to his side to contest the election from the CPN (Maoist Centre).

Congress Maintains Lead in Surkhet-1 and Dailekh-1

Congress has not allowed its lead to be overtaken in Surkhet-1 and Dailekh-1. Congress has been leading here since the start. According to the latest results, after counting 28,222 votes in Dailekh-1, Congress's Basana Thapa is leading with 9,050 votes, while UML's Rabindra Sharma is limited to second place with 8,339 votes.

Earlier, RSP's Nandakishor Basnet had overtaken him, and he has now reclaimed the second position. Basnet has received 6,097 votes. Prominent leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre), Ammar Thapa, is limited to fourth place with 2,293 votes.

Meanwhile, in Surkhet-1, Congress's Bishnu Kumar Khadka is ahead by a margin of 2,000 votes. According to the latest results, Khadka has received 6,923 votes, while UML's Dhruv Kumar Shahi is second with 4,901 votes, and RSP's Tek Bahadur Singh is third with 4,251 votes.

The CPN (Maoist Centre) is limited to fourth place here. So far, 17,857 votes have been counted here, with 668 votes declared invalid.

Weak Performance by UML

According to the results so far, the UML has shown a weak performance in Karnali. This party, which claims to be the leading force, has performed poorly even in the constituencies where it had high expectations. UML claims victory in all 4 constituencies in Surkhet and Dailekh.

It is currently only leading in Dailekh-2, where Laxmi Prasad Pokharel from the party is ahead with 2,799 votes. Congress's Dikpal Shahi has 2,229, RSP's Bakhat Shahi has 780, and CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Yogendra Shahi has 584 votes.

A large number of votes have been declared invalid here. After counting 7,732 votes, 625 votes were declared invalid.

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

In Salyan, after counting 8,866 votes, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Ramesh Malla is continuously ahead with 3,598 votes.

Surprisingly, RSP's Lalit Kumar Chand has surpassed UML and Congress here. He received 1,662 votes, while Congress's Keshab Bahadur Bista received 1,482 and UML's Gulabjung Shah received 1,075 votes.

In Kalikot, CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate and former Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi appears to be heading for victory. He has received 10,288 votes, while UML's Nagendra Shahi has received 9,616 votes. The Nepali Congress is in third place here, and Biplav Maoist's Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma 'Prakanda' is in fourth place.

The focus here was on 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 vote margin. Although CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Naresh Bhandari is trying to follow him, he is unable to catch up.