Final Tally Nears in House of Representatives Election; Rashtriya Swatantra Party Leads with 124 Seats

Kathmandu. The vote counting for the House of Representatives election held on Falgun 21 is reaching its final stages.

According to the Election Commission, the final results for 161 out of 165 seats in the first-past-the-post category have been announced. Among these, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured victory in 124 seats.

The Nepali Congress has been reduced to 17 seats, and CPN-UML to 8 seats. CPN (Maoist Centre) won 7 seats, Shram Sanskriti Party won 3, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and independents each won one seat.

In the four remaining constituencies where results are yet to be finalized, the RSP is leading in one, Congress in one, and UML in one. Specifically, RSP is currently ahead in Gorkha 1, Congress in Ilam 1, and UML in Sankhuwasabha. In Dhanusha 1, the result is held pending a court case against the disqualification of the RSP candidate's nomination.

Across the country, the RSP has swept many areas, securing victories with overwhelming majorities. However, in some constituencies, the wins were by very narrow margins.

In Jhapa 5, RSP's Balendra Shah won by a margin of over 49,000 votes, which translates to a 56.97 percent margin of victory. In Jhapa 2, RSP's Indira Rana Magar won by a margin of over 48,000 votes, representing 68.19 percent.

RSP candidates have won by large margins in several other areas as well. Conversely, some victories were secured by extremely thin margins. While Balendra Shah won by over 49,000 votes, some candidates won by a margin of just 5 votes. The 15 constituencies where the margin of victory/defeat was the smallest are as follows.

Okhaldhunga

Among the constituencies where results have been finalized, Okhaldhunga recorded the smallest margin of victory for the RSP. In Okhaldhunga, Congress's Kumar Luitel suffered a defeat by a margin of 5 votes. RSP's Bishwaraj Pokharel won by a 5-vote margin. Pokharel won with 13,953 votes, while Luitel came second with 13,948 votes.

Achham – 2

Achham 2, located in Sudurpashchim Province, is another constituency where the victory/defeat was by a small margin. CPN-UML's Yagya Bahadur Bogati won by a margin of 472 votes. He secured 9,518 votes, while Nepali Congress's Pushpa Bahadur Shah received 9,046 votes.

Achham – 1

In Achham Constituency No. 1, Congress's Bharat Bahadur Swar was victorious. Swar defeated CPN's Bhim Rawal by a margin of 526 votes. Swar secured 10,759 votes, while Rawal obtained 10,233 votes.

Bajura

In Bajura Constituency No. 1, UML candidate Lal Bahadur Thapa was defeated by a narrow margin. He was beaten by Congress's Janak Raj Giri by a margin of 540 votes. Giri won with 17,173 votes, while UML's Thapa received 16,633 votes.

Gulmi – 2

In Gulmi Constituency No. 2, CPN-UML Vice-Chairman Gokul Bista was defeated by a slim margin. Bista secured 16,967 votes. However, RSP's Govinda Panthi secured 16,406 votes. Thus, RSP won Gulmi 2 by a margin of 561 votes.

Dailekh – 1

In Dailekh Constituency No. 1, UML candidate Rabindra Raj Sharma was defeated by a narrow margin. Congress's Basana Thapa defeated Sharma by a margin of 576 votes. Sharma received 11,796 votes in the constituency, while Thapa secured 12,372 votes.

Baglung – 2

RSP secured a victory by a slim margin in Baglung-2 as well. In this constituency, Nepali Congress's Tekraj Poudel was defeated by a margin of 779 votes. RSP candidate Som Sharma defeated him by securing 12,647 votes, while Poudel received only 11,868 votes.

Sindhuli – 1

In Sindhuli-1, CPN-UML's Pradip Kumar Katuwal Chhetri was also defeated by a narrow margin. Katuwal received 15,875 votes, while RSP's Dhanendra Karki received 16,659 votes. Thus, Karki defeated Katuwal by a margin of 784 votes.

Doti

In Doti Constituency No. 1, UML's Deepak Bahadur Dhami was defeated by a small margin. He trailed Congress's Bharat Bahadur Khadka by 787 votes. Khadka received 14,897 votes, and Dhami received 14,110 votes.

Tehrathum

In Tehrathum, UML Secretary Bhanubhakta Dhakal was defeated by a slim margin. He lost to RSP's Santosh Subba by a margin of 879 votes. Dhakal received 10,682 votes, while Subba secured 11,561 votes.

5 Constituencies with Defeats/Victories by Less Than 2500 Votes

Similarly, there were defeats and victories by a margin of less than 2500 votes in 5 constituencies.

Kalikot

In Kalikot 1, Nepali Communist Party's Mahendra Bahadur Shahi was victorious. He defeated CPN-UML's Nagendra Shahi. He won by a margin of 1,087 votes. CPN's Shahi received 11,734 votes, while UML's Shahi received 10,647 votes.

Palpa – 1

In Palpa 1, Congress's Sandeep Rana was victorious. He defeated UML's Narayan Prasad Acharya by a narrow margin. He defeated UML's Acharya by a margin of 1,517 votes. Rana secured 18,336 votes, while UML's Acharya received 16,819 votes.

Humla

In Humla 1, Karnali Province, the victory/defeat was also by a small margin. Nepali Congress's Jayapati Rokaya defeated CPN's Dipendra Rokaya. CPN's Rokaya lost by a margin of 1,554 votes. Congress's Rokaya received 8,797 votes, while CPN's Dipendra Rokaya received 7,243 votes.

Bhojpur

In Bhojpur, the only constituency, Shram Sanskriti Party's Dhurbaraj Rai was victorious. CPN-UML Secretary Sherdhan Rai was defeated by him. Rai defeated Sherdhan by a margin of 1,913 votes. Shram Sanskriti Party's Rai received 16,663 votes, while UML's Rai received 14,750 votes.

Taplejung

CPN-UML's Khitij Thebe achieved victory in Taplejung. In this single constituency, Nepali Congress's Gajendra Prasad Tumyang Limbu was defeated by a slim margin. Thebe won by 2,251 votes. Limbu received 11,711 votes, while Thebe secured 13,962 votes.