DHARAN: “A political party is a disease! Incurable like cancer!”

These are the words Harka Raj Rai (Harka Sampang), Mayor of Dharan, wrote on his Facebook page on April 30, 2024. However, Sampang himself has now reached the Election Commission to register a party named ‘Shram Sanskriti Party’ (Labour Culture Party).

The Commission is currently studying the documents submitted by Sampang for party registration. According to Election Commission Information Officer Suman Ghimire, the party will only be registered after a thorough review of all documents, signatures, and the constitution (statutes). Even if the party is not registered, Sampang and his group are visiting various places and engaging in organizational work.

Why did Sampang, who despises political parties and abuses their leaders and cadres on social media by calling them ‘minions’ and ‘corrupt,’ step forward to establish a party himself?

The federal government collapsed after the Gen Z movement of Bhadra September 8 and 9. Following this, preparations were being made to form a new government. Sampang arrived in Kathmandu with a team of supporters, demanding that he be made Prime Minister. He went to the Army Headquarters and various places; his supporters chanted slogans, held rallies, and clashed. However, Sampang could not become the Prime Minister. After that, he went to the Prime Minister’s Office, demanding the position of Home Minister. He then returned to Dharan and, weeping, alleged that he was told to go to an embassy to become a minister, accusing the government of being formed through the maneuvering of foreign agents.

Immediately thereafter, gathering his supporters, he argued that a political party was now necessary because an independent person was not allowed to become Prime Minister, and urged them to focus on organizational work.

This is not the first time Sampang has attempted to form a party.

Election pamphlet distributed by Sampang, presenting himself as a philosopher and proponent of the Unityism philosophy. Photo: Sampang’s Facebook

Sampang, who often courts controversy by speaking recklessly on issues of caste and religion, claims to be a philosopher who propounds ‘Unityism’. In the 2029 by-election for mayor, where his election symbol was a bottle as an independent candidate, the pamphlet he distributed declared him a ‘Philosopher (Propounder of Unityism Philosophy).’

Before that, Sampang had created the ‘Indigenous Autochthonous Unity Network’ (Adibasi Mulbasi Ekata Sanjal) for the purpose of forming a party. But when the network did not materialize as he wanted, he began efforts to create a political party himself.

He launched campaigns under names like Rastriya Ekata Party (Loktantrik) and Rastriya Ekata Party Nepal, with himself as the founding coordinator. At that time, he had named himself ‘Harka Sampang: A Revolution.’

After the country adopted federalism, in the 2017 local level election, UML’s Tara Subba was victorious, defeating Nepali Congress’s Tilak Rai by a margin of four thousand votes for the post of Mayor of Dharan. However, Subba died on July 17, 2018, just one year into his term, and UML’s Deputy Mayor Manju Bhandari became the acting mayor. Her tenure, however, became controversial.

In the mayoral by-election held in 2019, Nepali Congress’s Tilak Rai became Mayor for the first time in Dharan’s history, defeating UML’s Prakash Rai. UML’s defeat was attributed to the weak performance of former Deputy Mayor Bhandari, as well as the candidate Prakash Rai not being well-known among the voters.

Harka Sampang, who had been running a campaign demanding action against corruption in the Water Supply Board, also stood as a mayoral candidate in this by-election. He received a total of 422 votes.

Although defeated in the election, Sampang took up issues such as corruption and water supply, reaching out to every neighborhood. He protested on the streets against the US project MCC. He met with ethnic communities and religious groups, appealing for support.

Harka Sampang using a government vehicle for party organization.

In the 2022 local election, Sampang, who had implored the then-Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) for a ticket, engaged in activities to draw the attention of the people of Dharan, sometimes protesting alone on the streets, sometimes demonstrating at the gate of the municipality, and sometimes vandalizing water supply pipes.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress’s Tilak Rai, who had become mayor through the by-election, also could not accomplish significant work during his three-year term.

In the 2022 local level election, CPN (UML) gave the mayoral ticket to the same former Deputy Mayor Manju Bhandari. The Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) alliance nominated Nepali Congress’s Kishor Rai for Mayor and Maoist Centre’s Aindra Bikram Begha for Deputy Mayor. Harka Sampang ran as an independent candidate. Coincidentally, he also received the election symbol ‘cane’ which was also the symbol of Kathmandu’s mayoral candidate Balendra Shah, who had created a nationwide buzz.

The votes of the dissatisfied factions within Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), and Maoist Centre were cast in his favor. Being a Rai-majority area, he also received ethnic votes. With all things aligning, he succeeded in reaching the Mayor’s chair.

Even after becoming Mayor, he continued to raise funds as an activist to build parks and run volunteer labor campaigns. He claimed that if a direct election for Prime Minister were held in the country, he would become the Prime Minister. He also protested on the streets, demanding a directly elected executive Prime Minister.

The Honda XR motorcycle worth Rs 700,000 at the time. Photo: Sampang’s Facebook

After the Gen Z movement, he claimed the Premiership but did not get it, and he is now focused on organizing the ‘Shram Sanskriti Party,’ which is in the process of registration. He is building the organization by visiting various places in Sunsari, as well as Jhapa, Udayapur, and Kathmandu, among others.

He is being criticized on social media itself for using a government vehicle to travel to various places for organizational work.

Before winning the election, he had said that if he became Mayor, he would not ride a government vehicle but would ride his own old motorcycle. Immediately after winning the mayoral race, he had also said, “If I travel by car, I won’t see the potholes on the road.”

However, shortly after that, he purchased a Honda XR motorcycle, worth about seven hundred thousand rupees, with money from the Water Supply Board. Currently, he travels sometimes in the sub-metropolitan city’s vehicle and sometimes on the motorcycle.

To those who criticize him for using the sub-metropolitan city’s vehicle for organizational work, he responded on social media with, “If the government doesn’t use the government vehicle, who does, you fools?”

Sakul Shrestha, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan, says that Sampang is still not trying to deeply understand politics.

Shrestha, who was also Sampang’s teacher at the campus, says, “He used to abuse political parties and leaders/cadres, but now it seems he has realized that a party is necessary, but political maturity is still lacking.”