Youth Dominate Kosi Province Election Results, Signaling Strong New Political Force

Biratnagar. The list of members elected to the House of Representatives from the 28 constituencies of Kosi Province shows a dominance of youth and a strong presence of new political parties.

Looking at the results from various constituencies in Kosi Province, voters appear to have prioritized younger candidates this time. Ten young candidates under the age of 40 have secured seats in the provincial parliament.

Nisha Dangi, 29, of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, was elected from Jhapa-1. She defeated experienced Nepali Congress leader Keshav Raj Pandey, becoming the youngest directly elected representative from the province.

Along with Dangi, Aren Rai of the Shram Sanskriti Party was also elected at the age of 29 from Khotang. He defeated Dev Bikram Rai of CPN-UML, strengthening the representation of the youth.

These two representatives are the youngest candidates elected from Kosi Province in this election.

The list of young individuals defeating heavyweight leaders is also quite long. In Morang-6, Rubina Acharya, 31, of the Rastriya Swatantra Party achieved a historic victory by defeating influential Nepali Congress leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala.

Similarly, in Jhapa-5, Balendra Shah, 36, of the RSP, created a stir in political circles by defeating CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. In Jhapa-3, Prakash Pathak, 37, defeated the Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Rajendra Lingden.

These results confirm a direct challenge from the younger generation to the old and established leadership. A majority of young candidates were also seen in other constituencies in Morang.

In Morang-4, Santosh Rajbanshi, 34, of the Rastriya Swatantra Party defeated Congress's Guru Raj Ghimire.

In Ilam-1, Nishkal Rai, 35, of the Nepali Congress secured a seat in parliament by defeating Binod Nemwang Limbu, 37, of the Shram Sanskriti Party. In Ilam-2, Suhang Nemwang, 36, of CPN-UML defeated Bhimraj Acharya of the Congress.

From Taplejung, Aetihas Thapa, 38, of UML defeated Gajendra Prasad Tumyang Limbu of Congress, while in Sunsari-2, Lal Bikram Thapa, 39, defeated Rajeev Koirala of Congress.

The election saw significant representation in the House of Representatives from the 40 to 50 age group from Kosi. In Morang-2, Krishna Kumar Karki, 40, of the Rastriya Swatantra Party defeated Dilip Kumar Agrawal of UML, while in Morang-3, Ganesh Karki, 40, of the same party defeated Sunil Kumar Sharma of Congress. In Udayapur-1, Parashmani Gelal, 40, defeated Rajesh Kumar Rai of the Shram Sanskriti Party.

Yagyamani Neupane, 41, in Morang-1 and Suryabahadur Tamang, 41, in Udayapur-2 hoisted the flag of victory by defeating Shanti Pakhrin Lama and Amber Bahadur Rayamajhi respectively. In Morang-5, Asha Jha, 42, defeated Phul Kumar Lalwani of Congress, and in Sunsari-3, Ashok Chaudhary, 42, defeated veteran Congress leader Bijay Kumar Gachhadar.

From the Shram Sanskriti Party, Harkaraj Rai, 43, in Sunsari-1 defeated Gomata Tamang of RASP, and Dhruvaraj Rai, 43, in Bhojpur defeated Sherdhan Rai of UML. In Tehrathum, Santosh Subba, 48, of Congress defeated Bhanubhakta Dhakal of UML. Similarly, Deepak Kumar Sah, 49, in Sunsari-4 and Shambhu Prasad Dhakal, 50, in Jhapa-4 also won.

The oldest representatives elected directly from Kosi in this election are Arjun Kumar Karki, 62, from Sankhuwasabha, and Prakash Singh Karki, 62, from Solukhumbu. Arjun Kumar of UML defeated Mingma Sherpa of RASP, and Prakash Singh of Congress defeated Ashim Rai of CPN.

In the age group above 50, Narendra Kumar Kerung, 53, from Panchthar, Indira Rana Magar, 55, from Jhapa-2, Rajendra Kumar Rai, 59, from Dhankuta, and Bishwa Raj Pokharel, 59, from Okhaldhunga were elected.