Former RPP Chairman Kamal Thapa Suffers Crushing Defeat, Fails to Secure Deposit in Kathmandu-5 Election

Kathmandu. Former Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Kamal Thapa, who contested the House of Representatives election in Kathmandu Constituency No. 5, has suffered a humiliating defeat. He failed to even secure his election deposit.

Voters rejected Thapa, who allegedly secured the ticket forcefully by sidelining other aspirants within the party. In that constituency, Swastik Pokharel of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won with 30,737 votes. Pradip Paudel of the Nepali Congress secured the second position with 9,159 votes, while heavyweight leader Ishwar Pokharel of CPN-UML was relegated to third place with 4,701 votes.

However, Kamal Thapa, contesting under the RPP's election symbol, received only 1,922 votes. As he failed to secure even 10 percent of the total valid votes, his deposit was forfeited as per the law.

It was almost certain that local leader Hikmatjung Karki would receive the ticket from RPP for Kathmandu-5. However, Thapa allegedly used his influence at the last moment to snatch the ticket. Karki, who had been campaigning in the constituency for a long time, became angry after his ticket was withdrawn and subsequently left the RPP.

'Series of Defeats'
Although Kamal Thapa has contested various elections since 2047 BS (1990 AD), his results in direct elections have consistently been very weak. He has failed to win a direct election except in 2051 BS (1994 AD).

His electoral history is as follows:
2048 BS (House of Representatives): Defeated by Krishna Prasad Dahal of UML from Makwanpur-1.

2051 BS (Mid-term): Won from Makwanpur-1. However, in the same election, he was defeated by Birodh Khativada of UML from Makwanpur-2.

2056 BS (House of Representatives): Defeated in both Makwanpur-1 by Krishna Prasad Dahal of UML and in Makwanpur-3 by Bir Bahadur Lama of UML.

2064 BS (First Constituent Assembly): Defeated by Pralhad Lamichhane of Maoist in Makwanpur-3.

2070 BS (Second Constituent Assembly): Entered Parliament through the proportional representation list after failing to win a direct election.

2074 BS (House of Representatives): Defeated by Krishna Prasad Dahal of UML in Makwanpur-1.

2079 BS (House of Representatives): Defeated by Deepak Singh of RPP in Makwanpur-1, finishing in third place.