BHIMDATTANAGAR: CPN-UML candidate Jeevan Raj Thapa has been elected the mayor of Purnabas Municipality in Kanchanpur district. Thapa secured 6,040 votes to defeat his closest competitor CPN Maoist Centre candidate Bir Bahadur Thapa, who got 5, 514 votes. Similarly, UML's Sarada Bista won the deputy mayoral race by defeating Bhuliya Rana of Nepali Congress. Bista garnered 6,366 votes against 5,391 votes obtained by Rana.