KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 29
CPN-UML Secretary Raghubir Mahaseth has become a member of the House of Representatives defeating NC Mahendra Yadav.
In Dhanusha Constituency- 4, Mahaseth defeated his nearest rival Yadav by a margin of 124 votes. Mahaseth got 32,236 votes whilst Yadav got 32,112 votes.
Although a close competition was seen during the counting of votes, finally Mahaseth won the election by defeating Congress' candidate Yadav.
In the 2017 election also, there was competition between Mahaseth and Yadav.
Mahaseth was elected with 22,532 votes, while Yadav was defeated as he was able to secure 19,991 votes.
Earlier, Mahaseth's wife Juli Kumari Mahato also won election for the House of Representatives from Dhanusha Constituency-3 from the CPN-UML. She became a federal MP defeating Anil Kumar Jha of LSP-N.
Along with this, the Mahaseth couple has become the second couple to become members of the House of Representatives from Dhanusha.
The record of both husband and wife winning from the same district was previously held only by Hem Bahadur Malla and Sharada Malla. Because of this, Hem Bahadur had got the title of 'Shere Dhanusha'. Hem Bahadur Malla was elected from Dhanusha in the 1986 (Rashtriya Panchayat Member) general elections.
In that election, Malla was elected as a member of Rastriya Panchayat (Panchayat Parliament) with 93,149 votes. Not only did Hem Bahadur win with an overwhelming number of votes, Hem Bahadur also made his wife Sharda Malla a winner and took her to the Rastriya Panchayat. Since then, four local elections and six elections for Parliament (including the Constituent Assembly) have been held. With the increase in population, the number of voters in each election has also increased.
However, no one has been able to surpass the votes Hem Bahadur Malla received.
Now the Mahaseth couple has become the second couple in the district to win the HoR elections. After the victory of the Mahaseth couple, UML activists have even started addressing Raghuveer as 'Shere Madhes'.
Shivshankar Sah (Hira), member of UML's Provincial assembly, writes on social media, "Raghuvir Mahaseth is not only 'Shere Dhanusha', but a 'Shere Madhes'."
The first general election was held in 1981 on the basis of 'adult suffrage' during the Panchayat period. Malla was the candidate who won the most votes in that election.
He was elected as Rastriya Panchayat member with 76,270 votes from Dhanusha, which had 2,27,030 eligible voters. After winning the election with the highest number of votes, he became known as 'Shere Dhanusha' (Lion of Dhanusha).
He retained this identity as 'Shere Dhanusha' (Lion of Dhanusha) in the 1986 election by getting the highest number (93,149) of votes.
The second highest number of votes were secured by Padmaratna Tuladhar in that election from People's Party from Kathmandu. Tuladhar secured 86,155 votes.
Hem Bahadur himself broke the record of the highest number of votes he got in the 1981, in the election after receiving the title of 'Shere Dhanusha'. He not only win that election, but also ensured his wife Sharda Malla's victory in the Rastriya Panchayat.
Similarly, in two of the four constituencies of Dhanusha, the husband and wife from CPN-UML have won firstpast -the -post elections. Juli Kumari Mahato was elected from Dhanusha Constituency No 3 and Raghubir Mahaseth from Dhanusha 4. Mahaseth and Mahato are husband and wife.
Both were MPs before. In 2017, Mahaseth became an MP directly and Juli became an MP under proportional representation system. Both of them were also ministers in the government led by KP Sharma Oli. This time, both Raghubir and Juli have been directly elected, defeating the candidates of the ruling coalition.
It is certain that there will be two more couples in the House of Representatives.
Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana and JSP-N leader Ashok Rai and his wife Sushila Shrestha will be seen in the Parliament. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been elected directly from Dadeldhura, while his wife Arzu Rana is on the top of the list of proportional representation candidates' list.
Similarly, Ashok Rai of Janata Samajwadi Party has been directly elected from Sunsari Constituency-1. Sushila Shrestha's name is on the PR candidates' list.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 30, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
