Maoist becomes the largest party in NA

The CPN (Maoist Center) has emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly (NA), winning five out of 19 vacant seats and increasing its seat in the 59-member chamber to 18.

The Nepali Congress, by winning 10 seats in the election, now has 16 seats, followed by CPN-UML’s 10 seats, thanks to a single seat it managed to win in the NA elections held on Thursday. Nepal Communist Party (Unified Socialist) won two seats, increasing its strength to eight and emerging as the fourth largest party in the upper chamber. 

Former Nepali Congress general secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula got elected to the upper chamber from Koshi Province, securing 5,292 votes against Poudel’s 4,562. 

UML’s Rukmini Koirala won from Koshi Province Women’s Cluster, defeating Champadevi Karki, a Maoist Center candidate representing the ruling coalition. The UML candidate polled 5,086 votes against Karki’s 4,922 votes. Karki lost the crucial vote as 17 voters from local levels and three from the province crossed the floor.

The ruling coalition won all four seats in Bagmati Province. Bishnu Devi Pudasaini (Female) and Jitjung Basnet (Others) from Nepali Congress, Shri Krishna Prasad Adhikari from CPN Maoist Center (Differently-Abled) and Ghanashyam Risal from Samajbadi Party (Dalit) won, securing 6,622, 6,531, 6,383 and 6,512 votes, respectively.

Both candidates from the ruling coalition won Lumbini Province. Bishnu Kumari Sapkota of Nepali Congress won as a female candidate with 5,435 votes against CPN-UML candidate Tulasa KC’s  2,867. Jhakku Prasad Subedi (Maoist Center) won in Others category by polling 5,435 votes against UML candidate Jhapendra Gharti Chhetri (Palpa)’s 3,039 votes. 

Madhes Province elected Anand Prasad Dhungana of the Congress and Pooja Chaudhary of Janata Samajwadi Party with 7,370 and 7,929 votes, respectively.

From Gandaki Province, Kiran Babu Shrestha of Congress (Others), Padam Bahadur Pariyar (Differently-Abled/minority) and Manrupa Sharma (Female) of Maoist Center won, polling 3,808, 3,779 votes and 3,660 votes, respectively.

In Karnali Province also, the ruling coalition won all three seats. Sabitri Malla (Dailekh) of the CPN United Socialist Party won with 3,722 votes from the Female category, leaving behind Bimala Kumari Shahi of CPN-UML (1,362 votes).

On Dalit category, Bishnu BK (Bikalpa) of CPN Maoist got elected, polling 3,817 votes against CPN-UML Hikmat BK’s 1,267 votes. Krishna Bahadur Rokaya of the Congress defeated Dilli Prasad Bhatt of CPN-UML in Rukum West, polling 3,870 votes against Bhatt’s 1,214 votes.

From Sudurpaschim Province also, ruling coalition candidates emerged victorious. The winning candidates are Maoist Center’s Renu Chand (Female) and Congress’s Narayan Bhatt (Differently-Abled) as well as Baldev Bohara (Others).

The Election Commission said in a press release on Thursday that 546 out of 549 voters in seven province assemblies cast their votes in the National Assembly elections, marking a turnout of 99.45 percent.

Out of 1,497 voters at local levels (rural municipalities, municipalities, sub-metropolises and metropolises), 1,486 cast votes, marking a 99.97 percent turnout.

The 19 NA members elected in the 59-member upper chamber will replace the incumbents, whose term expires on March 3. As per a constitutional provision, the President will nominate a member on the recommendation of the Cabinet.