This time, an interesting clash is taking place between 'new faces' in Jhapa-1, won by Nepali Congress Central Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma. New-faced candidates have entered the election fray in this constituency, which has long been dominated by well-known leaders.

The main political parties have adopted the strategy of giving ‘newcomers a chance’ this time. Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, NCP and Shram Sanskriti Party have all fielded new faces in Jhapa-1, which has made the election in this constituency more interesting.

Nepali Congress has fielded party’s district vice-president Keshav Raj Pandey as its candidate. UML has fielded Ramchandra Upreti, a cooperative activist with an old leftist background.

Rastriya Swatantra Party has fielded former MP Nisha Dangi, emphasizing parliamentary experience, while NCP has fielded engineer Ashesh Ghimire. Young leader Kewal Ram Rai has become a candidate from the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Hark Sampang. Local voters say that the local political balance, internal party strategy and changing mood of voters have made Jhapa-1 a ‘competitive laboratory for new faces’ this time. ‘I always saw the same old faces, but this time I am happy to see all the new and young faces,’ said local voter Chandrasingh Rajbanshi, ‘This time it seems that it will be very difficult for us to elect an MP.’

Sharma snatched it first, now he gives it away

Nepali Congress Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma won the third round from Jhapa-1.

Sharma, who lost to UML’s Rabin Koirala in the 2070 BS Constituent Assembly election and to the then NCP candidate Surendra Kumar Karki (Ram Karki) in the 2074 BS House of Representatives election, finally won the 2079 BS election.

However, he did not want to be a candidate from this constituency for the fourth time. Sharma had made it public that he would not be a candidate, saying, ‘It is not necessary to give a chance to the same person again and again, but to give a chance to a new person.’

Not to mention, this time Keshav Raj Pandey has got the ticket as a new face on Sharma’s recommendation. Pandey, who has a business background, is also the vice president of Nepali Congress Jhapa. In the 2079 local elections, General Secretary Sharma used his 'veto' to snatch the ticket of Pandey, who was considered close to Krishna Prasad Sitaula, and made his close regional president Indra Budhathoki the mayoral candidate. UML's Gopal Budhathoki took advantage of the internal strife in the Congress. Learning from that mistake, the Congress became united again. In the House of Representatives elections, Sharma defeated UML's Agni Kharel by more than double the vote margin. This time, Sharma has given tickets to all three Pandes and praised them. The regional committee had initially recommended Sharma's single name. However, after Sharma made it clear that he would not be a candidate, the regional committee re-recommended the names of Bina Tamang from the women's cluster, Pankaj Bikram Nembang from the indigenous peoples' side, Vicky Majumdar, advocate Ashok Kumar Pokharel and Sadaya Paneru from the youth side.

However, considering all possibilities, Congress sources have stated that Sharma has given a ticket to Pandey, who was not recommended by the regional committee. Meanwhile, Sharma has fielded his close friend Rajendra Ghimire in Krishna Sitaula's constituency, Jhapa 3.

A challenge to old parties

Nepali Communist Party candidate Engineer Ashesh Ghimire is considered one of the top leaders of the new generation of communist politics. His journey, which started from student politics, has now reached the House of Representatives candidate through becoming a central member of the party.

Ghimire considers election expenses to be the 'seed of corruption'. That is why he is running a frugal campaign. He rides a tempo to the tea garden, chats with the tea workers and returns. His main agenda ranges from daily wages to social security and insurance for tea workers.

Ramchandra Upreti of CPN-UML is not a new name for Jhapa-1. Upreti, who has been active in organizational politics for a long time, is known as a loyal leader. However, this is his first direct election experience as a member of the House of Representatives, which has made this election a decisive turning point in his political journey.

Similarly, this is also the first direct election experience for Nisha Dangi, the youngest proportional representation MP in the dissolved House of Representatives. Like most of the candidates fielded by the National Independent Party, Dangi is also a young, clean-headed and female candidate. Her candidacy has clearly pushed Jhapa-1 towards a triangular contest.

All 15 wards of Mechinagar Municipality, wards no. 9 and 10 of Bhadrapur Municipality and wards no. 4 to 7 of Buddhashanti Rural Municipality are included in the Jhapa-1 constituency. This geographically and demographically mixed area is considered a politically sensitive constituency of Jhapa.

There are a total of 131,067 voters here. Out of them, 65,858 are male voters and 65,209 are female voters. With the latest update, 10,692 new voters have been added, which is estimated to play a decisive role in the election results this time.

The proportional vote results of the previous election reflect the political equation of Jhapa-1. The Nepali Congress had received 25,420 votes, while the CPN-UML had received 22,547 votes. The National Independent Party secured the third place with 13,750 votes. Similarly, the Maoist Center received 5,000 votes, while the CPN (Unified Socialist) was limited to 529 votes.