Nepali Congress Candidate Basana Thapa Reclaims Historic Seat in Dailekh-1, Ending 12-Year Drought

Surkhet. Ganesh Bahadur Khadka is a name inseparable from the political history of Dailekh. It was during his tenure as the Assistant Minister for Physical Planning, Construction and Transport in V.S. 2052 and State Minister for Local Development in 2064 that motor roads and electricity reached Dailekh.

Having led the Congress in Dailekh since the Panchayat era, the leftists feared competing against him in that constituency. Even when Dailekh was an area of influence for Nepal Workers' Peasants' Party (NWPP), Khadka used to win the election.

He was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Dailekh-1 in 2048, 2051, and 2064, but was defeated in 2070 due to internal sabotage within the Nepali Congress.

After Khadka's defeat due to factionalism within the party, the Nepali Congress began to weaken in Dailekh-1. In 2074, fearing defeat due to the dominance of the Left Alliance, the Congress did not field its own candidate and supported the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP).

In 2079, when the Left-Democratic Alliance was formed, Ammar Bahadur Thapa of the CPN (Unified Socialist) received the ticket from this constituency and won the election with the support of the Congress.

Although the Congress was the major political party in this constituency, it became weak in Dailekh-1 following Ganesh Bahadur Khadka's defeat. However, 45-year-old female leader Basana Thapa has succeeded in bringing back Khadka's legacy after 12 years.

According to the vote counting completed late Friday night, she defeated her closest rival, Rabindra Raj Sharma of CPN (UML), by a margin of 576 votes. Sharma is the same person who was defeated by Congress's Ganesh Khadka in 2048 and 2051, and who won the election in 2074.

Basana secured 12,372 votes, while Sharma received 11,796 votes. Furthermore, Nandakishor Basnet of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in third place secured 7,894 votes, while Ammar Bahadur Thapa of the Communist Party of Nepal received only 4,109 votes.

Basana Benefited as Three Former Colleagues Faced Off

This election was very challenging for Basana as she had to compete against old and experienced leaders Rabindra Raj Sharma and Ammar Bahadur Thapa.

Moreover, these three leaders, including Basnet who was the candidate from RSP, were once colleagues within the CPN (UML). When they contested the election from different parties this time, the UML vote was split, which directly benefited Congress's Basana.

Basana, who operates Hotel Parking in the Dailekh district headquarters, contested for the post of Deputy Mayor of Narayan Municipality in 2074 but was defeated by a narrow margin.

She emerged from the politics of the Nepal Students' Union and was born and raised in Kathmandu. She is the younger sister of popular Nepali film actress Bipana Thapa and came to Dailekh after marriage.

She is a well-known female leader within the Dailekh Congress. She made the development carried out by the Congress in Dailekh in the past her election agenda and had been stating that she would bring back Ganesh Bahadur Khadka's legacy.

“The Congress has played a leading role in the development of this constituency to date. On the other hand, since I was the only female candidate in the electoral field, everyone had sympathy for me,” Basana said, “The strong organization of the party is the main basis for my victory.”