Former Finance Minister Barshaman Pun, a leader of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), has entered parliament for the fourth time from Rolpa, which is considered the stronghold of the armed war. He won the House of Representatives once from Lalitpur and three times from his home district, Rolpa. 

He got the opportunity to be elected from Rolpa continuously in the parliamentary elections of 2074, 2079 and 2082. In 2070, he was elected from Lalitpur 1. Pun, who played a key role during the then armed war that started from Rolpa, became a minister at various times. He supported Chairman Dahal in the development of the party while staying in Rolpa, the birthplace of the war, and also reached an important role in the party. He also became the party's Deputy General Secretary.

Pun's parliamentary journey

His parliamentary journey began in 2064 after the peace process. He first became the Minister of Peace and Reconstruction in 2067 and became the Minister of Finance in 2068. He also became the Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation in 2074. He was active in politics even when the Maoists were preparing to start the people's war from 1 Falgun 2052. His journey started from student politics and he also became the Rolpa District Secretary of the then Maoist. At the age of 26, he became the Rolpa District Secretary of the Maoist. He was made a central member in the fourth expanded meeting of the CPN-Maoist held in 2055. His role, which was active in the district and base areas, then reached the central level. He was the youngest member when he reached the central committee. 

The lucky leader

He was born on 18 Jestha 2028 in Jankot village of Rolpa. Pun's father, Irkham Pun, is also a political figure. Born as the second child of father Irkham Pun and Tirthamali Pun, Barshaman's political companion, Mrs. Onsari Gharti, also became an MP and Speaker. Their pair, who participated in the then Maoist war and reached high political positions, also remained in the news.

He attended Kotgaun Lower Secondary School until grade 7 and then went to the district headquarters to study higher grades. He was admitted to Balkalyan Secondary School in Liwang, the district headquarters, at the age of 13 (2041 BS). He then became interested in politics. His friends at that time were Netra Bikram Chand 'Biplav', Kul Prasad KC and others. But they had different political views.

On the other hand, he got more inspiration to join communist politics from former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a teacher and mentor who was involved in communist politics. Later, he got the opportunity to join the war with that mentor.

He considers Mahara as his guru in education and politics. He remembers, 'Mahara Sir became my educational and political guru.' Just like Pun in Rolpa, Mahara gave educational and political knowledge to many leaders and activists. He also taught him how to fight.

After passing LLC in 2044 BS, he went to Dang to pursue further education. In 2045 BS, he enrolled in Mahendra Multiple Campus in Ghorahi, Dang to study IL, and began to take an interest in social and political programs and activities there. He says, 'I thought that oppression, suppression, exploitation and inequality should end in society. I am still working for that today.'  His interest in studying law arose from this same thought. He had already joined the Akhil Chhaitha while he was in Liwang. Therefore, it was not surprising that he was also active in the student movement while studying in Dang.

He passed IL in Dang with first class in 2048 BS. While he was engaged in full-time politics, in 2049 BS, he enrolled in Nepal Law Campus in Kathmandu to study BL. After that, he did not continue his studies. He got involved in the war. Even though he gave the BL exam without taking regular classes, he did not succeed.

Pun and his wife Onsari are among the couples who participated in the attack on the Holeri outpost at the beginning of the People's War in 2052 BS. Pun was the political commissar at that time. Also, central member Kulprasad KC Sonam and his wife Tara Gharti Magar were in that attack.

Member of the House of Representatives for the third time from Rolpa

NCP candidate and former Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has won the election of the House of Representatives for the third time from Rolpa with a wide margin. In the 2082 election, he defeated the main competitor, Congress candidate Dr. Sudan Kumar Wali has trailed. Pun got 27,460 votes while Dr Wali got 12,08 votes. Out of the total 68,776 votes cast, 3,144 votes were invalidated. In third place is Balram Thapa of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and in fourth place is Gokul Gharti of the UML. Thapa got 10,894 votes and Gharti got 9,933 votes. There were 10 candidates in the fray in Rolpa.