Prakash Kafle/Kathmandu. The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” has performed poorly in the federal parliamentary elections in Kathmandu, failing to secure the required votes in all ten constituencies of the capital. As a result, candidates from the party lost their election deposits in every constituency.
According to data published by the Election Commission, a total of 463,342 valid votes were cast under the first-past-the-post system in the ten constituencies of Kathmandu. Out of these, NCP candidates collectively received only 18,343 votes, which accounts for about 3.89 percent of the total.
Before the election, the Maoist Centre, the CPN (Unified Socialist), and more than twenty smaller leftist groups had united to form the new Nepal Communist Party. Despite presenting themselves as a consolidated leftist force, the party failed to achieve notable results in the capital.
Under the election rules, candidates who fail to obtain at least 10 percent of the valid votes lose the security deposit submitted during nomination registration. This is commonly referred to as “forfeiting the deposit.”
In several constituencies, NCP candidates were unable to even cross the 1,000-vote mark. In Kathmandu-1, candidate Menuka Bhandari secured only 345 votes, finishing seventh. Niraj Lama in Kathmandu-3 received 518 votes and ranked sixth. Indra Kumar Bhusal in Kathmandu-4 obtained 657 votes, placing seventh, while Kalpana Sharma in Kathmandu-5 got 574 votes and also stood seventh.
In Kathmandu-2, Nitesh Poudel secured 1,912 votes and finished fifth. Himal Sharma (Hemlal) in Kathmandu-6 received 1,164 votes, also placing fifth. Basanta Manandhar in Kathmandu-7 gained 3,667 votes and finished third. In Kathmandu-8, Suman Sayami secured 3,217 votes and placed second, although the winner Biraj Bhakta Shrestha received many times more votes.
Radha Krishna Maharjan in Kathmandu-9 got 1,328 votes and finished sixth, while Rupa Maharjan in Kathmandu-10 secured 2,648 votes and stood fourth.
Among the ten constituencies, the party managed to cross 3,000 votes only in Kathmandu-7 and Kathmandu-8.
Historically, the Maoists had performed much better in the capital. In the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, the then CPN (Maoist) won four constituencies in Kathmandu. Party chairman Prachanda himself was elected from Kathmandu-10. At that time, Jhakku Subedi defeated Madhav Kumar Nepal in Kathmandu-2, while Hitendra Dev Shakya and Hisila Yami won from Kathmandu-6 and Kathmandu-7 respectively.
However, the party’s influence in the capital has steadily declined since then. In the 2013 election, the Unified CPN (Maoist) failed to win any seat in Kathmandu. Even during the 2017 election under the left alliance, the Maoist Centre could not secure a victory in the capital.
In 2022, contesting in alliance with the Nepali Congress, the Maoist Centre fielded candidates in two constituencies—Kathmandu-9 and Kathmandu-7—but failed to win either seat.
This time, despite forming a broader left coalition under the banner of the Nepal Communist Party, the group could not gain significant electoral support in Kathmandu.
काठमाडौंका सबै १० क्षेत्रमा प्रचण्ड नेतृत्वको नेकपा कमजोर, जमानत जोगाउन सकेन
