KATHMANDU, MARCH 12
Rabindra Patel, 48, of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has said that the longstanding leader of the Madhes Prabhu Sah has been rejected by his electorate for good.
Patel won Rautahat Constituency-3 by defeating heavyweight candidates including Sah, who is the president of the Aam Janata Party (AJP). Sah has long been regarded as a strong leader in this constituency, but this time the tide has turned. The Balen wave in Madhes shattered Sah's supremacy in the constituency. Sah has won this constituency four consecutive times since the first Constituent Assembly election in 2008. He won the second Constituent Assembly election in 2013, as well as the 2017 and 2022 House of Representatives elections.
"This constituency has upended him," Patel told THT. "I helped shape Sah into the politician he is now. However, he betrayed me and backstabbed me multiple times." The RSP leader also accused Sah of terrorising his electorate. "His arrogance had reached its pinnacle. He hurled insults and used vulgar language against Balen throughout his election campaign," Patel claimed.
"But he has finally faced his comeuppance. Now, Rautahat-3 won't give him another chance," he observed. "His wife, Rina Kumari Sah, is the mayor of Maulapur Municipality in the constituency. However, in the next local elections, that will also change," he asserted. "The country has got a charismatic leader in the form of Balen, who has wiped out the legacy parties across the country. The same will happen in the local level election."
Patel won with 27,318 votes. Sah was pushed to third position. Patel's nearest competitor was Govinda Chaudhary of the Janata Samajwadi Party. He defeated him by a 15,364-vote margin. Chaudhary is the senior leader of JSP-N and a toptier candidate. However, Chaudhary could only earn 11,954 votes. Prabhu Sah of the AJP got 9,890 votes, while Kundan Prasad Kushwaha of the CPN-UML got 6,605 votes.
Patel stressed that he has been working tirelessly to expand the organisation, drawing on his past experience. He shared that he had led the Maoist revolution in Madhes.
"I joined the Maoist movement when I was 16 and led the revolution from the front. However, I was kicked out of the party for standing up for the truth. As a result, I rebelled and will use my experience to help RSP become a formidable force in the Madhes."
