Veteran Politician Rajendra Prasad Pandey Loses Dhading Seat After Eight Electoral Contests

Dhading. Rajendra Prasad Pandey, who contested eight times in the House of Representatives election in Dhading, has been defeated this time. Pandey, who lost his first election in 2064 BS, could not win the recently concluded election either.

Pandey, who has been continuously contesting elections since 2048 BS, was defeated this time by Ashika Tamang of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Pandey, a heavyweight leader of the CPN (UML), had previously lost to Shalikram Jammakattel of the then CPN (Maoist Centre) in 2064 BS.

Pandey, a shrewd political player, first contested an election in 2048 BS. He won the election from Dhading-3 in 2048 BS and also won from Dhading-3 in 2051 and 2056 BS. After the 2062-63 People's Movement, Pandey contested from Dhading-3 in 2064 BS and lost to then Maoist Centre's Shalikram Jammakattel by a margin of 10,458 votes. Jammakattel received 25,075 votes, while Pandey received 14,580 votes.

In 2070 BS, Pandey again contested from Dhading-3 and defeated Maoist leader Jammakattel by a margin of 6,498 votes. Pandey received 22,196 votes, while Jammakattel received 15,698 votes. In 2074 BS, Pandey contested for the Bagmati Provincial Assembly member post and won from Dhading 1 (A), which was formed after the constituency restructuring. Pandey, who won the Provincial Assembly seat in Dhading 1 (A) in 2074 BS with 27,332 votes, also became the Chief Minister of Bagmati Province.

Pandey, who contested six elections from the CPN (UML), joined the CPN (Unified Socialist) led by Madhav Kumar Nepal after the party split in 2078 BS. He contested the 2079 BS election from Dhading-1 representing the Unified Socialist. Pandey, who contested under the alliance between the Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Centre), won that election too. In that election, he defeated CPN (UML) candidate Bhumi Prasad Tripathi by a margin of 8,021 votes. He secured 36,018 votes, while Tripathi of the CPN (UML) received 27,997 votes.

Pandey, a shrewd player in parliamentary politics throughout his journey from the Panchayat system to the Republic, was defeated by Ashika Tamang of the RSP in the recently concluded election. Tamang was elected by securing 39,128 votes, while the nearest rival, Bhumi Prasad Tripathi of CPN (UML), received 15,032 votes. Tamang defeated him by a margin of 24,096 votes. Pandey, who contested from the CPN (UML), received 14,709 votes, while Krishna Rijal of the Nepali Congress received 10,080 votes.

Pandey has continuously benefited from his political journey spanning from the Panchayat system to the Federal Republic. Pandey, a senior leader of the CPN (UML), began his political journey in 2031 BS. He entered politics through student movements and spent time in jail during the anti-Panchayat movement.

In the 2044 BS District Panchayat election, Pandey was also elected as the Chairman of the Dhading District Panchayat. After the parliament was reinstated following the 2062/63 movement, he also served as the Minister for Local Development. Pandey served as the Chief Minister of Bagmati Province from Kartik 2078 BS to Poush 2079 BS.