KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 2
Anti-incumbency factor took its toll on six ministers of the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government who lost in the parliamentary polls held on November 20.
The six federal ministers who could not hold on to their seats are: Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand; Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister Jeevan Ram Shrestha; Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Pampha Bhusal; Youth and Sports Minister Maheshwor Jung Gahatraj; Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Umakant Chaudhary; and State Minister Umesh Shrestha.
The men and women who chimed with the voters and defeated the six big shots are:
DEEPAK BOHARA
Home Minister Khand, who is a prominent leader of the Nepali Congress, lost to Deepak Bohara of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party in Rupandehi-3.
Bohara got 36,717 votes,whereas Khand got 34,036 votes.
Khand was a ruling coalition candidate, whereas Bohora had the backing of the CPN- UML.
Bohara has been active in politics for more than four decades and was at the helm of several ministries, including the ministry of physical infrastructure and transport, the tourism ministry, the supplies ministry, the health ministry, the labour and employment ministry, and the forest ministry.
TOSHIMA KARKI
Energy Minister Pampha Bhusal of the CPN-Maoist Centre lost to Toshima Karki of the Rastriya Swatantra Party in Lalitpur-3. Karki got 31,136 votes.
Bhusal got 8,769 votes, whereas as Amrit Khadka of the CPN-UML got 12,963 votes. In 2017, Bhusal had won from the same constituency.
Karki is a general surgeon at Patan Hospital. She holds a master of general surgery from Kathmandu University.
She has been a vocal supporter of reforms in the medical education.
BIRAJ BHAKTA SHRESTHA
Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Jeevan Ram Shrestha lost to Biraj Bhakta Shrestha of the Rastriya Swatantra Party in Kathmandu Constituency-8.
Biraj got 10,105 votes, whereas Minister Shrestha got 4,177 votes. Biraj was a member of Bibeksheel Sajha Party before he joined RSP a few months before polls. In 2017, he was elected to the Parliament under the proportional representation system.
SURYA DHAKAL
Sports Minister Maheshwar Gahatraj Athak of the CPN-MC was defeated by UML's Surya Dhakal in Banke-1. Dhakal got 25,026 votes, whereas Athak got 19,632 votes.
Dhakal has been in politics for more than three decades. This is his first stint in the Parliament. He has risen through the ranks in the UML and is now a central committee member of the party, as well as Banke incharge.
ACHYUT PRASAD MAINALI
Water Supply Minister Umakant Chaudhary lost to the UML's Achyut Prasad Mainali.
Mainali got 39,195 votes, whereas Chaudhary got 30,056 votes. In 2017, Chaudhary had defeated Mainali on the same seat. Mainali was the public relations consultant for former prime minister KP Sharma Oli.
RABI LAMICHHANE
Former state minister of health and population, Umesh Shrestha, lost to Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, in Chitwan-2. Lamichhane got 49,262 votes, whereas Shrestha got a total of 15,099 votes.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party was formed on 1 July 2022 under the leadership of Lamichhane, who made his mark as a programme presenter on television.
Lamichhane used to run a popular television programme and has been raising his voice against corruption, bad governance, and plight of migrant workers in the Gulf and Malaysia.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 3, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
