The House of Representatives election slated for March 5 has placed Chitwan district in special focus. Among its constituencies, Chitwan-2 has drawn the most attention. In this constituency, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane is contesting for the third time, while Nepali Congress (NC) candidate Meena Kumari Kharel has emerged as his challenger.

Lamichhane has claimed he will secure victory from Chitwan-2 for the third time. However, Kharel is also considered a strong candidate. Her campaign has attracted significant public attention.

This constituency includes not only villages and urban areas but also a mixed population of Madhesh and hill communities. Ten wards of Bharatpur Metropolitan City – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 29 – fall within this constituency. Likewise, all wards of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality and Kalika Municipality of Chitwan are included here. Ward 29 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and most wards of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality lie in hill areas. Therefore, the constituency comprises both the core urban center of Bharatpur and rural regions.

To understand party influence in this area, it is necessary to examine past election results. In the 2022 local elections, former CPN (Maoist Center) candidate Renu Dahal was elected Mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, while Nepali Congress candidate Chitrasen Adhikari was elected Deputy Mayor. In wards 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, and 29 of Bharatpur, NC candidates were elected. UML candidates won in wards 3, 11, and 12, while in ward 7, a candidate from the then CPN (Unified Socialist) was elected. Similarly, the chairperson and vice-chairperson of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality and the mayor and deputy mayor of Kalika Municipality were won by UML.

RSP Chair Lamichhane during one of his election campaigns. Photo: Lamichhane’s Facebook page

Among Chitwan’s three constituencies, this one has the fewest voters. According to data published by the Election Commission, Chitwan-2 has 137,152 voters: 67,857 men, 60,294 women, and one third-gender voter. For the March 5 House of Representatives election, 48 polling stations and 152 polling centers have been designated in this constituency.

Although traditional parties dominated the local elections, in the 2022 House of Representatives election, RSP Chair Lamichhane won by a massive margin. In the by-election held a year later, he again secured victory with an even larger margin. With aspirations of re-election, Lamichhane has once again chosen Chitwan-2 as his constituency.

Considering Chitwan the birthplace and stronghold of RSP’s “Blue Revolution,” Lamichhane received 49,300 votes in the 2022 election. His nearest rival, Nepali Congress candidate Umesh Shrestha, received 14,988 votes, while UML’s Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel secured 14,652 votes. In contrast, in the 2017 general election, UML’s Pokhrel had been elected as a Member of Parliament with 44,670 votes, while his Nepali Congress rival Shesh Nath Adhikari had received 27,314 votes.

After winning the 2022 election, Lamichhane’s citizenship controversy surfaced. The Supreme Court ruled that he had not reacquired Nepali citizenship after renouncing it to become a US citizen, and thus revoked his parliamentary position. He subsequently obtained new citizenship. In the 2023 by-election, Lamichhane was re-elected, receiving 54,176 votes. His NC rival Jit Narayan Shrestha received 11,214 votes, and UML’s Ram Prasad Neupane secured 10,936 votes.

NC candidate Meena Kumari Kharel during one of her door-to-door campaigns. Photo: Kharel’s Facebook page

Having formed RSP and contested his first election in 2022 after moving from Kathmandu to Chitwan, Lamichhane rose in parliamentary politics from this constituency. This time as well, his prominence remains high. He confidently claims he will win for the third time. Speaking at a campaign event organized by RSP in Bharatpur-3, Dharmachok, on 21 February, he said, “When no one believed in me, Chitwan did. Once I arrive in Chitwan, I gain courage and confidence.” He has also claimed that he did not enter politics for a long career. According to him, “The aim is to work for two terms, hand over to capable colleagues, and move the country forward by at least two steps.”

Rabi and Meena as main rivals

Among the 22 other candidates contesting against Lamichhane, the closest competitor is 54-year-old NC candidate Kharel, who rose through the student movement. She has entered electoral politics again after two and a half decades. Active in social work for many years, she is a familiar face in Chitwan.

An active participant in the 1990 People’s Movement, Kharel served as vice-chair and later acting chair of the Nepal Student Union at Birendra Multiple Campus. In 1997, she was elected ward member of Bharatpur Ward 5 and became actively involved in social service. For three decades, she has worked in the rescue, protection, and rehabilitation of vulnerable women and children. “During door-to-door visits, I have received positive enthusiasm from voters,” Kharel says. “I urge voters to exercise independent judgment.”

She reiterates this message throughout her campaign. Given her long-standing work with women and children, her influence in the constituency is not weak. She has not made Lamichhane’s controversial image a campaign issue. Her social-service background has attracted writers, intellectuals, and civic leaders in the area.

Kharel has transformed the electoral atmosphere in Chitwan-2. Some observers believe that, unlike previous elections, Lamichhane may not have an easy victory this time. Not only rival parties and voters, but even RSP acknowledges Kharel as a strong contender. Consequently, Lamichhane has intensified his door-to-door campaign in recent days.

Kharel appears to have strong influence among female voters. Due to her extensive work with women and children, she is well-known among women’s groups in villages. Literary figure LB Chhetri, also a voter in Chitwan-2, says the country is seeking change and he stands in favor of change. “This time, NC has selected a strong candidate in Constituency No. 2, making the contest interesting. As a capable female candidate, Meena is giving RSP Chair Lamichhane tough competition,” he says.

Similarly, writer and political analyst Sarita Tiwari is openly campaigning for Kharel. Tiwari argues that no one other than Meena Kharel should be sent to Parliament from Chitwan-2. “She is not someone propped up artificially,” Tiwari wrote on social media. “She is a self-made individual who has spent her life fighting for justice for children and victims of violence.”

UML candidate Asmin Ghimire. Photo: Ghimire’s Facebook page

In Chitwan-2, a total of 23 candidates – both party-affiliated and independent – are in the race. Six are independent, and the rest represent various parties. Seven of the candidates are women. Alongside RSP Chair Lamichhane and NC candidate Kharel, other candidates include UML’s Asmin Ghimire; NCP’s Pratap Gurung; RPP’s Jagadishwar Adhikari; JSP-Nepal’s Kaman Singh Chaudhary; Janamat Party’s Nirmala Kumari Thakur; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party’s Shova Basukala; Rastriya Janamorcha’s Devi Sharma; and Progressive Democratic Party’s Prakash Bahadur Pandey.

Additionally, Risha Gole of Mongol National Organization; Shakti Raj Gurung of National Republic Nepal; Milan Thapa Magar of Shram Sanskriti Party; Darshana Kumari Shahi of CPN (Maoist); Nikumar Pakhrin of Ujyalo Nepal Party; Subas Mahato of Nagarik Unmukti Party Nepal; and Devi Kumari Magar of Aam Janata Party are also competing. Independent candidates include Indra Bahadur Syangtang, Krishna Prasad Chapagain, Pratap Singh Tamang, Prabin Sapkota, Rabi Kumal, and Shanku Prasad Jaisi.

Previously, this constituency mainly saw competition between NC and UML. However, after the rise of RSP, major parties have been pushed to the margins. In both the 2022 House of Representatives election and the 2023 by-election, NC and UML candidates did not even come close to Lamichhane. As a result, influential senior leaders of NC and UML did not seek party tickets here this time. To face Rabi, NC has fielded social activist Meena Kharel rather than a traditional party cadre. UML, meanwhile, has nominated younger candidate Asmin Ghimire, who has a background in student politics and is also active in the music field.