Nepali Congress Cites Internal Disputes for Narrow Election Losses in Key Constituencies

Kathmandu. Nepali Congress Spokesperson Devraj Chalise stated on Sunday at the party's central office in Sanepa that internal disputes and weak election campaigns were primarily responsible for the party's defeats by margins of up to 5,000 votes in the House of Representatives elections held on Falgun 21.

Informing about the issues raised by members during the Central Working Committee meetings held last Friday and Sunday, Spokesperson Chalise mentioned that approximately 20 to 21 constituencies were lost mainly due to internal reasons.

'We have concluded that our party lost in about 20 to 21 House of Representatives constituencies by a margin of less than five thousand votes due to internal causes,' Spokesperson Chalise told journalists, 'There are about 20 to 21 such House of Representatives constituencies.'

The Congress secured its weakest results ever in the House of Representatives elections held on Falgun 21. Out of the 275 seats in the House of Representatives, Congress won a total of only 38 seats—18 under the first-past-the-post system and 20 under the proportional representation system. This representation for Congress in the House of Representatives accounts for only 13.82 percent.

The Central Committee meeting, convened for an initial review of the election, also concluded that defeats in about 20 to 21 constituencies were incurred due to internal reasons.

Following Chalise's statement and the conclusion of the Central Working Committee, an examination of the votes received by Congress candidates and other candidates on the Election Commission's web portal for constituencies lost by margins of 5 to 5,000 votes revealed 20 such areas. There are 165 constituencies for the House of Representatives under the first-past-the-post system.

Congress candidates lost by a margin of less than 5,000 votes in Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Dhankuta, Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Bajhang, Baitadi, Achham-2, and Kailali-1.

According to the Election Commission's data, Congress candidates were defeated by margins of less than 5,000 votes in Sindhuli-1, Nuwakot-1, Sindhupalchok-2, Syangja-2, Baglung-2, Dolpa, Dailekh-2, Rukum West, Gulmi-2, and Dhanusha-1.

In Khotang, Congress candidate Birendra Kaji Rai was defeated by Aaren Rai of the Shram Sanskriti Party by a margin of 4,655 votes. The Election Commission's data shows that Aaren received 16,612 votes, while Congress candidate Birendra received 11,957 votes.

In Taplejung, Congress candidate Gajendra Prasad Tumyang Limbu was defeated by UML candidate Khitij Thebe by a margin of 2,251 votes. Thebe received 13,962 votes, while Limbu received 11,711 votes.

In Dhankuta, Congress candidate Dinesh Rai trailed UML candidate Rajendra Kumar Rai by 3,875 votes. UML candidate Rajendra received 18,132 votes, while Congress candidate Dinesh received 14,257 votes.

In Sankhuwasabha, Congress candidate Dipan Kumar Shrestha was defeated by UML's Arjun Kumar Karki by a margin of 2,365 votes. Karki received 15,636 votes, while Shrestha received only 13,271 votes.

In Okhaldhunga, the defeat between the Congress and Rastriya Swatantra Party candidates was by a margin of only 5 votes. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Bishwa Raj Pokharel was elected with 13,953 votes, while Congress candidate Kumar Luitel, who received 13,948 votes, fell short by just 5 votes.

In Dhanusha-1, Congress candidate Ram Paltan Sah was defeated by Matrika Prasad Yadav of the CPN by 928 votes. Yadav received 10,430 votes, while Congress candidate Sah received 9,502 votes.

According to the Commission's data, in Nuwakot-1, Congress candidate Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat was defeated by RSP candidate Dr. Bikram Timalsina by a margin of 4,012 votes. Timalsina received 22,609 votes, while Mahat received 18,597 votes.

In Sindhuli-1, Congress trailed by only 1,089 votes. RSP candidate Dhanendra Karki was elected with 16,659 votes, while Congress candidate Ujjwal Prasad Baral managed only 15,570 votes.

In Sindhupalchok-2, Congress's Banshlal Tamang was defeated by CPN's Yubaraj Dulal by 2,553 votes. Dulal was elected with 21,699 votes, while Tamang received 19,146 votes.

In Baglung-2, Congress candidate Tekraj Poudel trailed RSP candidate Som Sharma by 779 votes. Sharma was elected with 12,647 votes, while Poudel received 11,868 votes.

In Syangja-2, Congress's Bhagwat Prakash Malla was defeated by RSP candidate Jhabilal Dumre by 4,514 votes. Dumre secured 25,354 votes, while Malla received 20,840 votes.

In Gulmi-2, Congress's Bhuvan Prasad Shrestha was defeated by RSP candidate Govinda Panthi by 2,533 votes. Panthi received 16,967 votes, while Shrestha received 14,434 votes.

In Dailekh-2, Congress was defeated by UML by 4,337 votes. UML's Laxmi Prasad Pokharel was elected with 13,889 votes, while Congress candidate Dikpal Kumar Shahi received 9,552 votes.

In Dolpa, Congress's Co-General Secretary Karna Bahadur Buda was defeated by CPN's Dhan Bahadur Buda by 3,855 votes. Dhan Bahadur was elected with 6,802 votes, while Karna Bahadur received 2,947 votes.

In Darchula, Congress was defeated by UML by a margin of 3,065 votes. UML's Ganesh Singh Thagunna won with 18,891 votes, while Congress candidate Dharmananda Joshi received 15,836 votes.

In Rukum West, Congress candidate Raju KC was defeated by CPN's Gopal Sharma by 4,948 votes. Sharma was elected with 21,609 votes, while KC received 16,661 votes.

In Bajhang, Congress candidate Prakash Rasaili was defeated by UML's Ainsingh Mahar by 2,239 votes. Mahar was elected with 18,543 votes, while Rasaili received 16,304 votes.

In Baitadi, Congress candidate Chatur Bahadur Chand was defeated by RSP candidate Hari Mohan Bhandari by 2,940 votes. Bhandari received 22,134 votes, while Chand received 18,194 votes.

In Kailali-1, Congress candidate Janak Raj Chaudhary was defeated by RSP candidate Komal Gyawali by 4,959 votes. Gyawali received 17,826 votes, while Chaudhary received 12,867 votes.

In Achham-2, Congress candidate Pushpa Bahadur Shah was defeated by UML's Yagya Bahadur Bogati by 472 votes. Bogati received 9,518 votes, while Shah obtained 9,046 votes.

Reason for Defeat: Internal Party Dispute

The establishment faction has attributed the losses with margins up to 5,000 votes to internal sabotage due to party disputes. The Central Working Committee meeting held on Friday and Sunday also noted defeats in some places due to sabotage.

Spokesperson Chalise told journalists that some seats were lost due to internal party reasons. 'Some seats were lost due to internal party reasons. Study, investigation, and inquiry are underway regarding that,' said Spokesperson Chalise.

Following the 14th General Convention where Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected President, a special general convention was held from Poush 27 to 30 under the leadership of then-General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, with the participation of a majority of general convention representatives amidst disagreement from Dr. Shekhar Koirala's faction, which was the closest rival to Deuba in that convention. That special general convention elected Thapa as President and announced a new Central Committee, where Sharma is the Vice President.
 
After the Election Commission recognized the mandatory special general convention as per Congress bylaws, the Deuba and Koirala factions filed a writ petition against that decision in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has not yet issued a final verdict on that petition.

Stating that the writ petition filed by them is sub-judice in the Supreme Court, top leaders including Deuba not only refrained from participating in the election campaign but also did not turn up to vote.  

This is the current committee's understanding that sabotage occurred. Spokesperson Chalise stated that leaders speaking at the Central Committee meeting on Friday and Sunday also expressed this view.

At the last moment, a leader from the Deuba faction, Purna Bahadur Khadka, made an appeal on social media. Current establishment leaders are saying that if former President Deuba had made a similar appeal, the seats in the Far West would have increased, citing that Khadka's appeal led Karnali Province to win 5 seats and become first.

Khadka wrote on social media, 'I sincerely and humbly request you to go to all polling stations across all seven provinces starting from 7 AM on Falgun 21 and stamp your valuable vote on the historical election symbol 'Tree' of our party Nepali Congress on both the ballot papers for the direct and proportional representation of the House of Representatives, ensuring a massive victory.'