BUTWAL: The House of Representatives election held on Mrch 5 has brought the parliamentary journeys of several long-active leaders to a halt.

Leaders of the major parties such as the Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), and Nepali Communist Party (NCP) – well known as influential figures in Lumbini Province – did not receive public approval this time. Some were defeated by large margins. In Lumbini Province, where candidates ranged from a former prime minister to Gen Z youth, two UML vice-chairpersons, the general secretary, and several former ministers were all blocked from reaching parliament.

While NCP coordinator and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal won from Rukum East, UML’s two vice-chairpersons Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Gokarna Bista were both defeated. Paudel, who also served as a former Finance Minister, was defeated by a wide margin in Rupandehi-2 by RSP’s young leader Sulabh Kharel. The 28-year-old Kharel received 56,550 votes while his nearest rival, UML Vice-Chairperson Paudel, received only 12,861 votes.

This is the second defeat for Paudel, who is considered a seasoned player in parliamentary politics and had entered this election with plans for a fifth consecutive victory. Paudel, who has been contesting from Rupandehi since 1999, had won consecutively in 2008, 2013, 2017, and 2022.

UML’s other vice-chairperson and former minister Gokarna Bista was defeated in Gulmi-2 by RSP’s Govinda Panthi. Panthi won with 16,967 votes while Bista received 16,406. This is Bista’s second defeat in five elections, having won four of the previous five. He had scored a hat-trick of consecutive wins from 2013 through 2017 and 2022.

NCP candidate Som Prasad Pandey during the election campaign in Palpa.

Another UML office-bearer defeated in Lumbini Province is General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel. He was defeated by a wide margin in Dang-2 by RSP’s Joint General Secretary Bipin Kumar Acharya. Acharya received 43,559 votes while Pokhrel managed only 15,287.

General Secretary Pokhrel had contested from Dang in 1994, 1999, 2013, 2017 (provincial assembly), 2022, and 2026. However, having won the 1994 by-election, he has not been able to win any federal-level election since.

UML’s former deputy general secretary Pradeep Gyawali was also defeated in Gulmi-1. RSP central member Sagar Dhakal beat him by a wide margin of 14,461 votes. Dhakal won with 29,642 votes, Gyawali received 15,181, and Nepali Congress’s Chandra Prasad Bhandari, who had won from the same constituency multiple times, received only 13,505 votes.

Veteran leader Som Prasad Pandey, who had won four times from Palpa, will also not be entering parliament this time. NCP leader and former minister Pandey, who has been contesting continuously since 1994, was defeated by a wide margin by RSP’s Madhav Bahadur Thapa. Thapa won with 26,736 votes while NCP’s Pandey finished fourth with only 5,288 votes.

Nepali Congress Lumbini Province President Amar Singh Pun, who had been actively working toward organizing a special convention within the party, has also had his parliamentary journey halted. Pun, who had previously suffered defeat in the provincial assembly election, was defeated in Banke-3 by RSP’s Khagendra Sunar. Sunar was elected with 29,551 votes while Pun finished third with 13,215. UML candidate Suman Malla received 19,615 votes in the same constituency.

Veteran parliamentary player Sarvendra Nath Shukla’s journey to parliament was also stopped by RSP candidate Kanhaiya Baniya. Shukla was held to fourth place in Rupandehi-4. RSP’s Baniya won with 28,066 votes while his nearest rival, CPN-UML’s Pramod Kumar Yadav, received 20,262 votes.

Nepali Congress’s Ashutosh Mishra finished third with 15,613 votes. JSP Nepal’s Sarvendra Nath Shukla received 3,410 votes and Janmat Party’s Bhopendra Prasad Yadav received 2,077 votes.

The same candidates in Lumbini for decades

Shrewd political player Hridayesh Tripathi, who had won elections for decades by switching parties and repeatedly reached both the house and the government, suffered a humiliating defeat this time. In Nawalparasi Bardaghat Susta West constituency number 1, RSP’s Bikram Khanal defeated both Tripathi, who contested from Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal, and Nepali Congress candidate Binod Kumar Chaudhary by a wide margin.

Khanal received 45,241 votes while Chaudhary got 9,502 and Tripathi got 7,832. In 2022, Tripathi had contested from Janata Pragatisheel Party and was defeated by Nepali Congress’s Chaudhary.

Another shrewd player in Lumbini’s parliamentary politics, Brijesh Kumar Gupta of Kapilvastu-2, has seen his fifth attempt fail. Gupta, who became an MP four times over 26 years, finished third this time and was overtaken by a Nepali Congress candidate. RSP’s Bikram Singh Thapa has won from Kapilvastu-2.

Thapa won with 27,635 votes while Nepali Congress candidate Surendra Acharya received 21,527 votes and NCP’s Brijesh Kumar Gupta received 20,482 votes.

In Lumbini Province, which has 26 constituencies, the RSP has won 21. The Nepali Congress and the NCP have each won two constituencies, while the UML has been reduced to just one.