UML's Devraj Ghimire and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)'s Indira Rana Magar are in the election contest from Jhapa-2.
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The Speaker of the dissolved House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, and Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar are facing off in the election arena. Ghimire is contesting from the UML and Rana Magar from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Jhapa-2.
While the competition between UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Balendra Shah in Jhapa-5 has attracted attention across the country, the clash between the former Speaker and Deputy Speaker in Jhapa-2 is also in the news.
This time, three women and two lawyers are in the fray in Jhapa-2. Along with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Rana Magar, former minister Dharmashila Chapagain has become a candidate from the NCP and former MP Sarita Prasai has become a candidate from the Congress. Similarly, independent candidate Advocate Yubaraj Sangraula and RPP candidate Advocate Bhadra Prasad Nepal (Swagat) are also in the fray. Locals expect the election competition in Jhapa-2 to be interesting as 'heavyweight' candidates from different backgrounds will face off.
Former Speaker Ghimire, NCP leader and former Constituent Assembly member Chapagain, and RPP's Nepal have all filed their candidacies for the second time. In the last 2079 elections, UML's Ghimire had won from this constituency. Chairman Oli's confidant Ghimire got 28,716 votes in the election. The nearest competitor Nepal got 26,455 votes. At that time, Nepal was an independent candidate.
Rana Magar of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangraula, Prasai of the Congress, and independent candidate Sangraula are in direct competition for the first time. Rana Magar and Prasai were previously proportional representatives. NCP's Chapagain became a Minister of State after winning the 2064 Constituent Assembly election.
Former Deputy Speaker Rana Magar has been working for orphaned children. When she was the Deputy Speaker, she was accused of abusing her position and trying to take 5 youths to the US in the name of a United Nations program.
She wrote a letter to the US Embassy using the Deputy Speaker's letterhead to expedite the visa interview for the youths with her. In the dispute, the parties had demanded Rana Magar's resignation from the Deputy Speaker. However, she refused to resign.
Congress candidate Prasai reached the House through the Nepal Students' Union. Chapagain came into the limelight by defeating Congress leader Chakra Bastola in the 2007 Constituent Assembly election in Jhapa-4. Chapagain's competitor is also the niece of Prasai Bastola.
Nepal is a former journalist of the RPP, and he is now an advocate. 'Last time, voters trusted Nepal and almost won,' said Shambhu Prasad Sedhai, a voter of Jhapa 2. 'This time, he does not seem as popular as before.' In particular, voters seem unhappy after he, who had contested independently, was announced as a party candidate this time.
In this constituency, Maoists won in 2007, Congress in 2017, UML in 2017, and UML candidates won in the 2016 elections. There are 147,522 voters in this constituency. 13,431 new voters have been added.
In the last election, UML got the highest number of 26,490 proportional votes in this constituency. In second place, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) received 22,517 votes. The Congress, the RPP, and the Maoists received 15,498, 7,880, and 3,869 proportional votes, respectively.
