In four of the six metropolitan cities, mayoral candidates of the ruling alliance have maintained leads, with a 32-year-old independent candidate creating quite a buzz in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, also the federal capital. CPN-UML is leading the vote count in one metropolis and the party’s candidates are trailing in five metropolitan cities.

Here is the latest update on the mayoral race in the six metropolitan cities of the country.

In Biratnagar, Nagesh Koirala of the Nepali Congress is leading with 5,532 votes, while CPN-UML’s Sagar Kumar Thapa is trailing with 3,974 votes.

In Birgunj, Rajesh Man Singh of the Janata Samajbadi Party is leading with 4,657 votes while Bijay Sarawagai of the UML trailing with 2,059 votes.

In Kathmandu, independent candidate Balendra Shah has stretched his lead by 3,552 votes. Shah has secured 7,534 votes while UML’s Keshav Sthapit has garnered 3,982 votes.

In Lalitpur, Nepali Congress’ Chiribabu Maharjan has maintained an initial lead with 4,473 votes. UML’s Hari Krishna Byanjnakar has secured 1,621 votes.

In Pokhara, Dhanraj Acharya of the CPN (Unified Socialist) is leading with 4,848 votes. His close competitor is UML’ Krishna Bahadur Thapa who has secured 4,352 votes.

In Bharatpur, the most talked about metropolitan city this local election, CPN-UML’s Vijay Subedi is leading. He has secured 4,757 votes against CPN (Maoist Centre)’s Renu Dahal who has garnered 4,703 votes.