Sobita Gautam of the RSP was elected to Parliament a second time
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Sobita Gautam has successfully been elected as a Member of the House of Representatives from Chitwan-3, marking her second term in Parliament. She achieved a remarkable victory over Renu Dahal of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), winning by a significant margin of 38,662 votes. Gautam secured a total of 59,277 votes, while Dahal received only 20,615 votes.
In the previous 2022 House of Representatives election, Gautam had first won from Kathmandu-2 with 15,229 votes, defeating her closest rival Maniram Phuyal of CPN (UML), who garnered 11,555 votes. This election cycle, RSP strategically positioned Gautam in Chitwan-3, relying on her extensive legal background and prior parliamentary experience, where she was noted for her active participation and advocacy on pressing contemporary issues.
The contest in Chitwan-3 featured strong candidates on both sides, with Renu Dahal previously having a notable political history, as she was a member of the first Constituent Assembly in 2008, acquired through proportional representation. However, she faced defeat in the 2013 election for Kathmandu-1 against Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh. Additionally, Dahal had recently won the mayoral position of Bharatpur Metropolitan City in the 2022 local elections as a candidate from the erstwhile Maoist Center, receiving 43,127 votes, narrowly defeating UML’s Devi Gyawali, who received 42,924 votes. Despite her successful tenure as mayor, Dahal resigned prior to completing her term to run for the parliamentary election again. This election victory for Gautam adds a notable chapter to her political career and the evolving landscape of Nepali politics.
