KATHMANDU, MARCH 8
The March 5 election results, which are still being tallied, have upended several top leaders, including several political party presidents and well-known political figures.
Balendra (Balen) Shah, the senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), deserves full credit for pivoting the RSP's fortunes against formidable opponents.
Here are the top 16 constituencies where RSP candidates edged established political figures, ranging from party presidents to business magnates.
JHAPA-5: Balen clinches historic record triumph against Oli
Balendra (Balen) Shah, the senior RSP leader, won a monumental victory in Jhapa Constituency-5, crushing the decades-long legacy of CPN-UML Chair and former four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli.
Additionally, Shah received the most votes in the history of the House of Representatives election, earning him a seat in the Parliament. From Jhapa-5, Shah, who is also running for prime minister, easily defeated former PM Oli. Oli received 18,734 votes, while Shah garnered an eye-popping 68,348.
The RSP nominated Shah as its future prime minister, drawing the attention of the entire country. The Returning Officer's Office reported that Shah defeated UML Chairman Oli by a margin of 49,614 votes. Oli had previously won six elections in this constituency.
JHAPA-2: Former deputy speaker beats former speaker
Former Speaker Devraj Ghimire has been defeated in Jhapa constituency-2. Indira Rana Magar, a former deputy speaker, defeated Ghimire, the CPN-UML candidate, by a significant margin.
Magar, the RSP's candidate, received 60,110 votes, while Ghimire received 11,368. Ghimire is a powerful leader within CPN-UML and a trusted person of KP Oli.
JHAPA-3: RPP chair Lingden suffers blow from RSP candidate
Prakash Pathak of the RSP has won the Jhapa constituency-3 by a margin of more than 21,000 votes, defeating Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chair and former lawmaker from the same constituency Rajendra Prasad Lingden.
Lingden received 17,294 votes, while Pathak received 38,674. The Nepali Congress' Rajendra Kumar Ghimire received 8,199 votes, while the CPN-UML's Hari Bahadur Rajanshi received 7,492.
MORANG-6: NC Shekhar Koirala bites dust against RSP Acharya
Rubina Acharya of the RSP prevailed in Morang-6 with 55,513 votes, defeating heavyweight candidate Shekhar Koirala of the Nepali Congress, who stood as the nearest competitor here. He accumulated 12,850 votes. Koirala is regarded as one of the Nepali Congress's leading figures. Their vote difference is 42,681.
KATHMANDU-5: Paudel of NC and Pokharel of UML lose to RSP's Sasmit
In Kathmandu-5, Sasmit Pokharel of the RSP won with 30,737 votes against his nearest rival, Nepali Congress candidate Pradip Poudel, who received 9,159 votes. Paudel is a former health minister and top leader of the Nepali Congress.
Ishwar Pokharel of the CPN-UML, the CPN-UML's general secretary and KP Sharma Oli's confidant, also suffered an RSP blow in this constituency. He could only garner 4,701 votes.
RAUTAHAT-1: RSP candidate defeats former PM Madhav Nepal
RSP candidate Rajesh Kumar Chaudhary won the Rautahat-1 election, defeating former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in this constituency. The Election Commission reported that he was elected with 28,946 votes.
CPN-UML candidate Ajay Kumar Gupta received 10,693 votes. The Nepali Congress candidate, Anil Kumar Jha, received 8,574 votes, while the NCP candidate and former prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, received 7,669.
MAHOTTARI-2: Sharat Singh Bhandari suffers blow of RSP candidate Sah
Deepak Kumar Sah of the RSP has been elected to the House of Representatives after defeating Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal leader and 19-time former minister Sharat Singh Bhandari in Mahottari Constituency-2.
With 32,722 votes, Deepak Kumar won the election, while Bhandari, his closest opponent, received 10,198. Kiran Yadav of the Nepali Congress got 9,745 votes, while Kasim Nadaf of the UML got 3,524 votes. Similarly, Laxman Kumar Yadav of the NCP got 737 votes, while Jayakumar Pandey of the Janamat Party got 463 votes.
DHANUSHA-3: Nidhi loses to RSP's Jha
Manish Jha, the RSP spokesperson, won Dhanusha 3. He received 43,988 votes. Jha defeated Bimalendra Nidhi, former Nepali Congress General Secretary, with 27,652 votes. Nidhi garnered 16,336 votes.
Nidhi is an establishment faction leader within the Nepali Congress and a former deputy prime minister.
SARLAHI-2: RSP candidate defeats top Madhes-centric leaders
Rabin Mahato of the RSP has been elected in Sarlahi constituency-2 with 42,512 votes, compared to his closest rival, Nepali Communist Party top leader Mahindra Ray Yadav, who received 8,523 votes. He also defeated Rajendra Mahato, a top leader from Madhes. He is also a former deputy prime minister.
According to the Election Commission's results, Dr Saroj Kumar of the Nepali Congress received 7,039 votes, while Rajendra Mahato of the Rastriya Mukti Party received 5,992.
SARLAHI-3: Sah defeats Narayan Kaji Shrestha of NCP
Narendra Sah Kalwar of the RSP has been elected from Sarlahi-3 in the House of Representatives election with 46,890 votes. His rival, Narayan Kaji Shrestha of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), received 13,338 votes. Shrestha is a top leader of the NCP and former home minister.
SARLAHI-4: Amresh Singh defeats NC president Gagan Thapa
Amresh Kumar Singh of the RSP has been elected to the House of Representatives in Sarlahi-4, defeating the president of the Nepali Congress with more than 12,000 votes.
Singh received 35,688 votes in the recently completed vote counting, while his closest competitor, Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa, received 22,831 votes.
Amresh Singh now has a hat-trick after this victory, while Gagan Thapa suffers his first defeat. Thapa, who became a proportional representation MP in the 2008 election, had won a hat-trick in Kathmandu 4. This time, Thapa, who ran for office in Sarlahi constituency-4 of Madhes province, lost.
SAPATRI-2: Janamat chair Raut loses to RSP Yadav
CK Raut, the chairperson of the Janamat Party, has come to a halt in the short time he has been in parliament. Ramji Yadav of the RSP has been elected from Saptari-2, defeating Raut.
Ramji won the election with 28,404 votes, with CK Raut finishing third. Umesh Kumar Yadav of the Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal came in second with 14,263 votes, while Janmat Rau received only 9,880 votes.
Satish Kumar Singh, the candidate for the Swabhibhan Party, which was formed after splitting from the Janamat Party, received 3,557 votes. He was appointed Chief Minister of Madhes through Janamat.
Similarly, Ramkumar Yadav of the Nepali Congress received 2,498 votes; Afroz Alam of the Rashtra Nirman Party received 1,120 votes; and Mohammad Ziaun Rahman received 883 votes.
NAWALPARASI (BARDAHGAT SUSTA WEST)-1 : Binod Chaudhary bites dust against RSP candidate
Bikram Khanal of the RSP has been elected to Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta West) constituency-1, defeating Binod Kumar Chaudhary of the Nepali Congress by 35,739 votes.
Khanal received 45,241 votes, while Chaudhary got 9,502 votes. Chaudhary has been actively involved in national politics and is the only billionaire from Nepal. He is
BHAKTAPUR-1: RSP's Ranjit breaks legacy of NMKP
In Bhaktapur-1, the Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party's (NMKP) legacy has been shattered for the first time. RSP candidate Rukesh Ranjit has been elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Bhaktapur-1 with 33,436 votes.
He defeated NMKP candidate Prem Suwal by 5,289 votes. Suwal, the closest competitor, received 28,147 votes. Except for NMKP, no one has secured a seat in Bhaktapur-1 until now. Kiran Neupane of the Nepali Congress finished third with 4,282 votes, while CPN-UML's Som Misr received 3,721 votes.
Since 1991, NMKP has won continuously in Bhaktapur-1.
BHAKTAPUR-2: Mahesh Basnet bites dust against RSP's Khatri
Rajiv Khatri, a former journalist and RSP candidate, defeated CPN-UML secretary Mahesh Basnet by a significant margin. Khatri received 42,334, with Basnet receiving 10,996 votes. Basnet, a top CPN-UML leader, opposed the Gen-Z protest alongside CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli. Even before the election, Khatri and Basnet frequently clashed.
Khatri reportedly chose Bhaktapur-2 to crush Basnet's arrogance and attitude. Kabir Rana of the Nepali Congress stood at the third position with 8,401 votes.
CHITWAN-3: RSP's Sobita Gautam defeats former mayor Renu Dahal
RSP candidate Sobita Gautam won Chitwan Constituency-3 by a large margin. The Nepali Congress-UML candidate's deposit has been forfeited since Sobita Gautam has received the most votes thus far.
Gautam received 59,277 votes to win. So far, this is the most votes. Renu Dahal of the Nepali Communist Party, Gautam's nearest opponent, received 20,615 votes. The gap between Gautam and Dahal is 38,662 votes.
Renu congratulated Sobita stated on Facebook that she could not win the votes, despite having won the hearts of the people of Chitwan. Dahal is the daughter of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the NCP coordinator and Rukum East election winner. Renu is also a former two-term mayor of Bharatpur Metropolis.