Nepali Congress Wins Ilam-1 Seat After 26 Years in Close Contest During House of Representatives Election-2082

Biratnagar. The Nepali Congress has secured a victory in Ilam Constituency No-1 for the first time in 26 years under the House of Representatives Election-2082. Amidst a very tough and interesting competition, young Congress leader Nishkal Rai has made his way to parliament, breaking the long-standing legacy of the CPN-UML. However, the closest rival to the Congress in this election was not the CPN-UML, but the Shram Sanskriti Party.

According to the final vote count, Rai won by securing 14,543 votes. He defeated his closest competitor, Binod Nembaang of the Shram Sanskriti Party, by a margin of 911 votes. Nembaang received 13,632 votes. This election marks the return of the Congress to Ilam-1 after 26 years. Previously, in the 2056 election, Congress's Benupraj Prasai had defeated the then UML leader Jhalanath Khanal. Since then, the UML has maintained a stronghold in this constituency for nearly three decades.

This time, the Ilam-1 election saw a multi-polar and interesting contest. UML candidate Kajiman Kagate received 11,966 votes, while the Rastriya Swatantra Party's Bimal Gadal secured 9,160 votes. Similarly, the candidate from the Nepal Communist Party, Ran Bahadur Rai, garnered 7,665 votes.

In this constituency, where the UML has held sway in most elections since 2048, Mahesh Basnet of the UML was elected in the last 2079 election. At that time, Basnet received 25,753 votes, defeating former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal by a margin of 2,664 votes. Khanal had secured 23,089 votes in that election.

The results of 2079 halted the parliamentary journey of Khanal, who had enjoyed unilateral victories from this constituency after being in the UML for a long time, and this time, the rise of young leader Nishkal Rai has ended the UML's legacy. While the Congress is facing defeats across the country, Rai's victory has brought joy to the Congress leaders and cadres in Ilam.

The 36-year-old Nishkal is known as an educated and ideological young leader not only for Ilam but also in national politics. Rai, who began his public life through student politics, holds a Master's degree in Management and is currently pursuing an MPhil in Economics. His academic background appears to have attracted voters.

His experience teaching at Shankar Dev Campus in Kathmandu is believed to have given him a deep understanding of Nepal's education system, economic policies, and the problems faced by the youth. Rai, who is also the regional chairman of the Congress Ilam-1 Provincial Assembly Constituency-2, had built a strong presence in the organization and at the grassroots level. As the coordinator of the Koshi Province Government's 'We are Volunteers' program, he worked to connect youth with disaster management and community service. He was also associated with social organizations such as the Nepal Red Cross Society and the Jagriti Rural Development Forum Nepal.

Rai, who has visited countries including South Korea and Hungary during his studies and work, also possesses knowledge of international development and technology, which he plans to link with the development of his constituency.
 
Following his victory, he expressed heartfelt gratitude to the voters of Ilam-1 and committed to prioritizing extensive reforms in education, creation of employment opportunities, infrastructure development, and bringing youth into the mainstream political and social sphere. His victory is seen as the powerful emergence of a new generation in Ilam's politics, which had long revolved around traditional leadership.