Some leaders, like Janardan Sharma, are perennial candidates in Karnali. Among those who continue to be candidates and get elected is NCP leader Shakti Bahadur Basnet. NCP leaders Mahendra Bahadur Shahi and Dhan Bahadur Budha are also contesting for the fourth time.
Janardan Sharma, who has been elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Rukum West continuously since 2064 BS, is in the running for the fifth time. Having also served as the Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, Energy, Home and Finance, he is the only leader from Karnali who is continuously increasing his popularity among the former Maoists and is winning.
He won the parliamentary elections in 2064 with 22,575 votes, in 2070 with 30,270 votes, in 2074 with 34,402 votes and in 2079 with 39,549 votes.
He was elected earlier as a former Maoist and is facing Gopal Sharma of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), a former colleague who has been close to him for a long time. After Sharma left the former Maoists and participated in this election as a Progressive Democratic Party, civic leader Laxman KC said that the election competition in Rukum West has become interesting.
‘Even when the public opinion of the former Maoists was weak in other districts, Sharma had consistently won by increasing the margin in previous elections,’ says civic leader KC. ‘This election will show whether his influence and popularity was due to the party or personal reasons.’ In this election, the competition is being held between the Sharma duo, Raju KC of the Nepali Congress, Man Bahadur Shahi of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Nandaram Devkota of the UML.’
There are 12 constituencies in Karnali for the election of members of the House of Representatives. The Election Commission has stated that 138 people have registered their candidacies. Some leaders like Sharma are perennial candidates in Karnali. Among those who continue to be candidates and get elected is NCP leader Shakti Bahadur Basnet. Entering the election field for the fourth time from the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), he had previously won three times from the former Maoists.
‘I have filed my candidacy again to take the journey of development and prosperity of Jajarkot to further heights,’ he said, ‘There are still some tasks left to be completed by the people.’ Basnet, who was elected as a member of the House of Representatives with 34,151 votes in 2079 BS, received 32,281 votes in the 2074 BS election. After winning the second election of the Constituent Assembly in 2070 BS, Basnet set out on a parliamentary journey and also became the Minister of Forest and Environment and the Minister of Home Affairs. He was the Deputy General Secretary of the former Maoist Center before the party unification.
Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, a leader of the NCP, is also in the fray for the fourth time. Shahi, who filed his candidacy from Kalikot, is the first Chief Minister of Karnali Province and was the Minister of Energy in the federal government. He won the 2079 BS election with 23,727 votes, and in the 2074 BS Provincial Assembly election, he won in Kalikot 1 (2) with 12,153 votes. He began his parliamentary journey by winning the second Constituent Assembly election in 2070 BS.
‘Initially, we tried to pick the party coordinator from here, but after he chose another district, he made him a candidate again due to his close relationship with the people,’ he said. ‘I have continued my parliamentary journey to connect the people to employment along with the prosperity and development of the district and to inform the government about the problems of the voters.’ Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) spokesperson Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma, Congress’s Harsha Bahadur Bam, UML’s Nagendra Shahi, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s Prakash Neupane are also competing with him.
This is also the fourth election for NCP’s Dhan Bahadur Budha. He has been a member of the House of Representatives three times and a minister twice. He won the last House of Representatives election with 11,292 votes, and became an MP in 2074 BS with 11,761 votes. He won the parliamentary election for the first time in the Constituent Assembly election-2070 and became the Minister of State for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation and the Minister of Urban Development.
He is a person who has been the chairman of the District Development Committee for two terms. His younger brother Karna Bahadur Budha is competing with him from the Nepali Congress. He was elected as the joint general secretary in the recently concluded special general convention. Civic leader Bishnulal Budha said that the election competition is viewed as interesting after two brothers from the same family got tickets from different parties. Similarly, Lanka Bahadur Rokaya from the UML and Dev Singh Aidi from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are also in the election competition.
Political analyst Durga Prasad Sapkota says that if the same person becomes a candidate repeatedly, even the internal democracy within the party has not been strengthened. ‘Generation change is inevitable in politics, voting for the same person has increased voters’ distaste for politics, the tendency of not fulfilling election commitments and becoming candidates again has increased political chaos,’ he said, ‘The Genji movement has demanded change, now voters also need to be aware.’
