Former Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has won a seat in the House of Representatives from Rukum East-1. He garnered 10,240 votes in the election, defeating his closest rival Lilamani Gautam of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), who secured 3,462 votes, as per the Election Commission of Nepal.
Prachanda, the coordinator of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), emerged victorious in the elections, while his party and other traditional political parties like the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML performed poorly. Despite this, former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa are trailing candidates in the same election. Prachanda’s victory came from the stronghold of former Maoist rebels.
Critics have accused Prachanda of abandoning his previous constituency, Gorkha-2, where he was elected in 2022, out of fear of losing and opting for a safer seat in Rukum East-1. Since transitioning from armed rebellion to mainstream politics in 2006, Prachanda has won various elections, including to the Constituent Assembly and parliamentary elections.
Prachanda played a significant role in Nepal’s politics during the armed conflict period (1996–2006) and has continued to be a key figure even as his party’s influence has waned since 2008. Despite the decline in his party’s strength, he has held the position of prime minister multiple times in recent years with the support of either the Nepali Congress or the CPN-UML.
