Rastriya Swatantra Party's Santosh Rajbanshi Wins Morang-4 Seat by Wide Margin, Defeating Congress and CPN Leaders

Biratnagar. Santosh Rajbanshi of the Rastriya Swatantra Party has won the Morang constituency number 4 by a huge margin, defeating the prominent orator of the Nepali Congress and General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire, and the influential leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre) and former minister Amanlal Modi. He is also a former journalist.

Former Provincial Minister Jivan Ghimire, who is also a central member of the CPN (UML), was also a candidate from that constituency. According to Election Officer Ghanendra Adhikari, the 34-year-old Rajbanshi won with 40,833 votes. His closest competitor, Congress General Secretary Ghimire, received only 12,812 votes.

The vote difference between Rajbanshi and Ghimire is 28,021, which is considered very wide in the history of this constituency.

Similarly, CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate and former minister Amanlal Modi, who was aiming for a 'hat-trick' after being elected twice consecutively, was limited to 10,762 votes. Jivan Ghimire of UML received 6,933 votes. Out of a total of 119,025 registered voters in this constituency, 79,785 votes were cast.

Who is Santosh Rajbanshi?

Santosh Rajbanshi, a permanent resident of Rajbanshi Chowk, Biratnagar-3, does not have a long political rise. Born on Poush 12, 2048 BS to mother Koili Devi and father Rampujan Rajbanshi, Santosh is the only son in the family. Rajbanshi, who completed his bachelor's degree, was active in journalism before entering politics. He was appointed on contract at Nepal Television Itahari Channel. After being elected, Santosh said, 'I have been raising the voice of the people through journalism; now I will amplify those voices by reaching the parliament.'

The electoral contest in Morang-4 was interesting and complex this time. Leader Modi had defeated Mahesh Acharya of Congress in 2074 BS and Binod Dhakal of UML in 2079 BS. Modi appeared confident due to the significant presence of the Tharu community and his personal influence. On the other hand, this election was crucial for the ideological leader of the Congress, Gururaj Ghimire, for his political comeback. After being defeated by a narrow margin in the 2079 provincial assembly elections, he wanted to return to the center with the responsibility of General Secretary. Similarly, Jivan Ghimire of UML was also striving to secure his parliamentary journey.

However, Rajbanshi defeated all three established party leaders. Rajbanshi succeeded in capitalizing on the disillusionment with traditional parties and the desire for change. This constituency includes Gramthan, Katahari, some wards of Belbari, and six wards of Biratnagar Metropolitan City.