KATHMANDU, MAY 20
Ruling coalition candidates continue to lead the mayoral race in five of the six metropolises - Lalitpur, Bharatpur, Biratnagar, Pokhara, and Birgunj.
However, in Kathmandu, independent candidate Balen Shah is way ahead of his nearest rival, CPN-UML's Keshav Sthapit. As per the initial vote count, until 08:30pm, Shah had obtained 29,582votes. His nearest rival Sthapit trails Shah with 15,921 votes. NC candidate Srijana Shrestha has got 15,010 votes. In Lalitpur, NC's Chiribabu Maharjan, who is vying for the mayor's post for the second time, leads the race with a huge margin. Maharjan has so far got 22,820 votes. UML's Hari Krishna Byanjankar trails Maharjan with 13,124votes. Rastriya Prajatantra Party's Asta Bahadur Maharjan has got 2,204 votes.
In Biratnagar, NC candidate for mayor Nagesh Koirala, who is the common candidate of the ruling coalition, continues to lead the race with 27,264 votes. UML's Sagar Thapa trails Koirala with 20,079 votes. Independent candidate Umesh Kumar Yadav has got 7,923 votes. In Bharatpur, CPN-Maoist Centre's Renu Dahal leads the race with 23,192 votes. UML's Bijay Subedi trails her with 19,746 votes. Independent candidate Jagannath Paudel has got 8,529 votes. In Pokhara, CPN (Unified Socialist) candidate Dhanraj Acharya, who is supported by the ruling coalition, leads the race with 29,807 votes.
UML's Krishna Thapa trails Acharya with 26,375 votes. Rastriya Prajatantra Party candidate Shankar Kharal has got 3,145 votes. In Birgunj, Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal candidate for mayor Rajeshman Singh, who is supported by the ruling coalition, has garnered 24,316 votes, whereas UML's Bijay Kumar Sarabagi has got 12,489 votes.
Sarabagi.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
