DHARAN, MAY 22
Independent candidate Harkaraj Rai has won the mayoral race in Dharan Sub-metropolitan City. Rai bagged the mayoral post by defeating the ruling alliance's candidate Kishor Rai with a margin of 4,762 votes.
Harkaraj received 20,821 votes while his nearest rival Kishor got 16,069 votes. CPN-UML candidate Manju Bhandari received 12,825 votes. Following the restoration of democracy in Nepal in 1990, this is the first time an independent candidate has won the mayoral post in Dharan.
Harkaraj dismantled CPN- UML's stronghold and won the mayor. Earlier, NC's Tilak Rai had defeated UML candidate Prakash Rai in the by-election.
Likewise, the five-party alliance's Aaindra Bikram Begha won the deputy mayor's seat with 20,510 votes. He defeated UML candidate Padam Ishwor with a margin of 2,904 votes.
Following his election to the post of mayor, Harkaraj said that his first priority would be to solve the drinking water problem in Dharan. "We will focus on systematic management and distribution of drinking water,"
Rai said, adding, "My primary goal is to provide drinking water to the people. The day residents of Dharan get drinking water, I will consider myself successful."
The newly-elected mayor said that he had not raised a big agenda. "I have just raised issues and agendas that affect people every day," Rai stated.
Rai said that his victory was the victory of people in Dharan. He also stressed the need to focus on good governance and development. Earlier, Rai had received 422 votes in the by-election.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 23, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
