CPN-UML Central Committee Member Gorakh Bahadur Bogati Fails to Secure Parliament Seat Despite Fourth Attempt as Proportional Candidate

Surkhet. CPN-UML Central Committee member Gorakh Bahadur Bogati's desire to reach parliament was as strong this time as ever before.

Bogati, a perennial proportional representation candidate for UML Karnali, was a proportional candidate for the fourth time, including this one. UML had placed him first in the list for the underdeveloped region category.

This time, many people used to say—Bogati ji has a chance to become a Member of Parliament this time. However, he could not make it onto the proportional member of parliament list.

Yashodakumari Baral of Kalikot has become a proportional MP from the underdeveloped region under the Khas Arya category.

Bogati was a proportional candidate for the House of Representatives in 2070 and 2079 BS, and for the Provincial Assembly in 2074 BS. This time marked his fourth time as a proportional candidate, but he failed to enter parliament. According to UML leaders from Humla, he does not wish to contest direct elections.

He continuously contested direct elections from 2048 BS to 2064 BS, winning in 2056 BS, a time when there was a wave for UML across the country. As a result, UML won in all districts of the former Karnali, including Humla.

However, after the 2060s, Maoists emerged as a strong force in Humla. He came in third in 2064 BS. Since then, he has not been eager to contest direct parliamentary elections. The reason is that although he is a top leader of the province for the party, his 'ground' support is weak.

A UML leader from Humla says that Bogati is afraid to contest direct elections due to weak public support, comparing him to Yamlal Kandel in Karnali.

In his absence, he managed to get his wife elected as a National Assembly member once. But he has not been able to become an MP since the establishment of the republic. A UML leader from Humla states that Bogati, who is compared to Yamlal Kandel in Karnali, is afraid to contest direct elections due to weak public support.

'A leader of his stature has the capability to contest direct elections, but why does he stick to proportional representation,' the leader said, 'But the party does not make him a member. They should make a leader of this stature, but we don't see it happening.'

Weak Competitor to Yamlal within UML

Gorakh Bahadur Bogati is a top leader of CPN-UML in Karnali. He is a Standing Committee member from Karnali Province and has held responsibilities ranging from Provincial Chairman to In-charge.

Furthermore, he is considered a rival leader to Yamlal Kandel within UML in Karnali. Factional politics often occurs between these two leaders in the province. Bogati has been leading the faction against Yamlal in Karnali.

Previously, both had claims for the Secretary position from Karnali during the 11th National General Convention. Kandel later became the Secretary. Bogati remained a Central Committee member.

Kandel has contested House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections multiple times. He is currently the Chief Minister of Karnali Province. However, Bogati, considered the top leader of the province, is seen as significantly weaker compared to Kandel because he only seeks proportional representation and fails to protect his own faction's leaders.

A leader from his own team stated that Bogati is becoming weak in securing tickets for his close leaders in parliamentary elections, providing protection, and maintaining a strong presence in the party's mass organizations.

Despite consistently holding a top position in the provincial party, his home district Humla has not seen a UML victory in any House of Representatives election since 2056 BS.

In this recent House of Representatives election, three individuals had claims for direct representation. A struggle ensued between the Kandel-aligned Rawal and the Bogati-aligned Phadera for the ticket. Phadera was a leader who had lost the 2079 BS local and provincial assembly elections.

Phadera is a leader from Gorakh Bogati's group in the province. He succeeded in securing the ticket again through Bogati's strong influence.

However, Bogati's close candidates were very few among the twelve constituencies. The Kandel faction tends to dominate in the selection of UML General Convention representatives and candidate selection.

Both leaders are considered close to KP Sharma Oli at the central level. However, internal competition exists between them at the provincial level.

Nevertheless, Bogati appears significantly weaker compared to Kandel. For example, during the first Karnali Province-level convention of UML, Kandel's entire team won the election. The Bogati faction suffered a humiliating defeat.

A leader from his own team stated that Bogati is becoming weak in securing tickets for his close leaders in parliamentary elections, providing protection, and maintaining a strong presence in the party's mass organizations.

In this election, candidates close to Kandel were fielded in the majority of the twelve House of Representatives constituencies.