Biratnagar, February 10:

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala’s efforts to get an independent mayoral candidate of Biratnagar Sub Metropolis, Binod Aryal, elected came to naught as his rivals got the better of him in the civic elections.

Residents of Biratnagar say the humiliating defeat of Aryal, who managed to secure only the third position in the polls, now rules out any hope and possibility of Manisha joining politics.

A professor here, Gopal Bhandari, said Manisha’s image has suffered due to the poll fiasco.

Manisha’s campaign in the run-up to the polls was protested all over the country with people burning her effigies and posters and calling on people to boycott her movies.

Manisha, who mostly campaigned in the southern part of the sub metropolis, had also launched a ‘One vote, one autograph’ drive for Aryal. Aryal received 2,700 votes.

“I’ll speak about the polls later,” a distraught Aryal said when contacted for comments. A source in the Aryal family said Manisha had telephoned Aryal after the results were out and expressed her surprise. Manisha is scheduled to leave for Mumbai on Sunday. Pralhad Prasad Shah of the Home Minister Kamal Thapa-led RPP was elected the mayor with 7,645 votes. His nearest rival Yadu Bangsha Shah of NSP received 4,771 votes.

While Dr Durga Bahadur Adhikari of the Thapa-led RPP was elected the deputy mayor with 7,119 votes, his nearest rival Uday Yadav of NSP received 5,488 votes.

While 12 officials, including mayor, deputy mayor and ward chairmen, have been elected from the Thapa-led RPP here, five were elected from the NSP and seven as independent candidates.