Rastriya Swatantra Party Shatters Decades-Long Dominance in Baglung Elections

Baglung. In this election, candidates from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) were elected from both constituencies in Baglung. However, until before the voting, many did not anticipate that a new party would win here. When the vote count came out, many were surprised.

There was neither a strong organization nor famous faces as candidates, yet the public decided in favor of the RSP.

In Baglung, where the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Maoist, and Rastriya Janamorcha had taken turns dominating since 2048 BS, the new party RSP broke the stronghold of the old parties after many years. In Baglung Constituency No. 1, RSP candidate Sushil Khadka was elected by a large margin, pushing Congress to second place and UML to third. The alliance of CPN-Janamorcha even forfeited its deposit.

Khadka was elected with 20,927 votes, while his main competitor, Bhim Shrish of the Nepali Congress, received 11,944 votes. Hira KC of UML received 8,640 votes, and Krishna Prasad Adhikari of Rastriya Janamorcha received 4,521 votes. Out of a total of 98,046 voters in this constituency, 49,024 votes were cast.

In Constituency No. 2, RSP candidate Som Sharma was elected with 12,647 votes. His closest competitor, Tekraj Poudel of the Nepali Congress, received 11,868 votes. Manju Chalise of UML received 7,864 votes, and Gyannath Gaire of Janamorcha-CPN received 10,709 votes. Out of a total of 95,353 voters in this constituency, 47,547 votes were cast.

• Decade-Long Rotation Broken

Since the first Constituent Assembly, Congress, UML, and Janamorcha had been winning in Baglung Constituency No. 1. In the 2070 BS Constituent Assembly election, Hari Khadka of the Nepali Congress was elected with 13,500 votes. His rival, Hirabahadur KC of CPN-UML, received 11,963 votes.

At that time, some areas including Galakot and Tarakhola, which are now in Constituency No. 2, were part of Constituency No. 1. After Hari Bahadur, who won the Constituent Assembly seat, died in an accident, a by-election for the Constituent Assembly member was held in Chaitra 2071 BS.

Champa Devi Khadka of the Nepali Congress was elected in the by-election. She is the wife of the late Hari Khadka. She received 17,154 votes, while the closest competitor, Mana KC of UML, received 15,068 votes.

The Nepali Congress, which won the 2071 BS by-election, did not get a representative in either House of Representatives election after the implementation of federalism. In 2074 BS, Congress lost when there was a UML alliance, and in 2079 BS, it did not field a candidate while aligning with Janamorcha.

In the 2074 BS House of Representatives election, Surya Pathak of CPN-UML, representing the Left Alliance, defeated Champa Devi Khadka of the Nepali Congress by a wide margin. Pathak won with 33,657 votes, while Khadka received 20,616 votes.

In the 2079 election, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Chairman C.P.N. (Maoist Centre) was victorious from the five-party alliance comprising Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), and Rastriya Janamorcha, where the UML alliance had broken. C.P.N. (Maoist Centre) received 21,464 votes to win, while Surya Pathak of UML received 18,845 votes. At that time, Khimmananda Kandel of the Rastriya Swatantra Party received 9,191 votes. RSP secured a significant vote count without any organization.

In Baglung Constituency No. 2, Nepali Congress and the then Maoist had almost captured the seat through alliances over the decade. This area was particularly considered a stronghold for the Nepali Congress. In the 2070 BS Constituent Assembly election, Gyan Kumari Chhantyal won on behalf of the Nepali Congress.

She defeated Tulshiram Aryal of the then CPN (Maoist) by a margin of 1,877 votes. Chhantyal received 10,089 votes, while Aryal received 8,212 votes.

In the 2074 BS House of Representatives election, the Left Alliance was on one side, and the Nepali Congress was in a 'single' electoral contest on the other. At that time, Devendra Poudel of the then CPN (Maoist Centre) was victorious with the support of parties including Rastriya Janamorcha and CPN-UML. He defeated Nar Bahadur Pun (Niraj) of the Nepali Congress by a margin of 8,922 votes. Poudel received 28,827 votes, while Pun received 19,905 votes. Poudel, who won at that time, also served as the Minister of Education.

In the 2079 House of Representatives election, the Left Alliance broke, and an understanding was reached between the Nepali Congress, Maoist Centre, and Rastriya Janamorcha. In that election too, the Nepali Congress did not field its candidate from this constituency. At that time too, Devendra ran as the candidate from the Maoist Centre.

Devendra defeated Manju Sharma Chalise of CPN-UML by a margin of 4,601 votes. Poudel received 24,794 votes, while Chalise received 20,193 votes. Chalise was the candidate from UML this time as well, but she could not secure victory.