RSP Sweeps Gandaki Province in HoR Election; UML, NCP Fail to Secure Seats

Gandaki, March 10: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) delivered a stunning performance in Gandaki Province in the House of Representatives (HoR) election held on March 5, winning 15 out of 18 constituencies under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. In contrast, the CPN (UML) and Nepali Communist Party (NCP) failed to capture a single seat in the province.

RSP secured victories across nearly all districts, with the only exceptions being Myagdi, Mustang, and Manang.

• Kaski District: Khadak Raj Paudel (Ganesh) won Kaski-1, Uttam Prasad Paudel took Kaski-2, and Bina Gurung clinched Kaski-3.
• Baglung District: Both seats went to the RSP, with Sushil Khadka winning Baglung-1 and Som Sharma Baglung-2.
• Syangja District: Dr. Dhananjay Regmi and Jhabilal Dumre emerged victorious.
• Tanahun District: Dr. Swarnim Wagle won constituency-1, while Shreeram Neupane secured constituency-2.
• Nawalpur District: Rajan Gautam claimed Nawalpur-1, and Manish Khanal claimed Nawalpur-2.
• Lamjung District: Dharmaraj KC took the lone seat.
• Parbat and Gorkha Districts: Sagar Bhusal won from Parbat, while Sudan Gurung and Kabindra Burlakoti captured Gorkha-1 and Gorkha-2, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress (NC) managed to win only two constituencies—Yogesh Gauchan Thakali from Mustang and Tek Bahadur Gurung from Manang. An independent candidate, Mahabir Pun, secured the seat in Myagdi district.

Compared to the previous HoR election in 2079, the UML and NCP, which had won five and two seats respectively, were completely shut out in Gandaki. The NC also saw a reduction from 10 seats to just two under the direct electoral system, while the Rastriya Janamorcha Nepal lost its sole seat in the province.

The results mark a dramatic shift in Gandaki’s political landscape, establishing the RSP as the dominant force under the FPTP system.