Rastriya Swatantra Party's Amresh Singh Defeats Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa in Parliamentary Election

Kathmandu. Amresh Kumar Singh of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has halted the 18-year parliamentary journey of Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa.

According to the final vote count from Sarlahi-4, concluded on Sunday morning, Amresh defeated Gagan by a margin of 12,857 votes.

Amresh secured 35,688 votes, while Gagan received 22,831 votes. Gagan had been on his parliamentary journey since 2064 BS. After being elected for the first time through the proportional representation system, he had won the last three elections from Kathmandu Constituency No. 4.

Gagan was elected as the President of the Nepali Congress in the party's second general convention held last Poush. The Congress had put forward Gagan as the future Prime Ministerial candidate.

Gagan was first elected as a member of the Student Union at Tri-Chandra College in 2051 BS. He was elected as the Student Union Chairman of the same college in 2055 BS.

He became the Vice-President of the Nepal Students' Union in 2057 BS and the General Secretary in 2059 BS. He advocated for a republic even before the Congress officially accepted it and was charged in a sedition case following Ashoj 2059 BS.

Thapa gained prominence for his role in advocating for a republic during the 2062-063 movement. Currently, he is campaigning on the issue of generational change.

Thapa was elected as a Central Committee member in the 12th General Convention of the party and was defeated for the post of General Secretary in the 13th General Convention in 2072 BS. In the 14th General Convention last year, Thapa was elected as General Secretary from the Shekhar Koirala faction. He became a member of the Constituent Assembly in 2064 BS through proportional representation.

He won the second Constituent Assembly election from Kathmandu 4 and has remained undefeated in that constituency since. He became the Minister of Health in 2070 BS.

Similarly, Amresh Kumar Singh is a well-known politician and member of the House of Representatives in Nepal. He was born on September 5, 1970, in the Balara area of Sarlahi. He holds a PhD in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.

Amresh initially entered politics through the Madhes-centric movement. After starting his political journey with the Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, he later joined the Nepali Congress and became actively involved in politics. He was elected as a Member of Parliament from Sarlahi Constituency No. 4 in the House of Representatives elections of 2070 and 2074 BS. Subsequently, after not receiving a ticket from the Nepali Congress in the 2079 election, he contested as an independent candidate and was elected again.

He has been gaining popularity for his sensational statements in Parliament, including the stunt of removing his clothes on the floor of the House. Recently, as a candidate from the RSP, he made statements threatening self-immolation in Janakpur if Balen Shah did not become Prime Minister, and suicide if he himself was not elected.