Sagar Dhakal of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has been elected to the House of Representatives from Gulmi-1, defeating CPN-UML candidate Pradeep Gyawali.

According to the final results provided by Chief Election Officer Krishna Prasad Paudel, Dhakal secured 29,642 votes, while Gyawali received 15,181 votes.

Nepali Congress candidate Chandra Bhandari garnered 13,505 votes, and Sudarshan Baral of the Nepal Communist Party secured 3,176 votes.

Born on May 11, 1991, in Satyawati Rural Municipality-6 of Gulmi, Dhakal is an engineer by profession and an emerging young leader in Nepali politics.

He rose to national prominence after the 2022 House of Representatives election, when he contested against former prime minister and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba. Although he lost that race, Dhakal managed to secure nearly half the votes obtained by Deuba, bringing him into the national spotlight.

Before entering politics, Dhakal was active as a social campaigner, raising his voice on issues such as education, youth empowerment, development and good governance.

His political agenda focuses on good governance, accountability and citizen-centred service delivery. Dhakal has often argued that a new political culture and leadership are needed in place of the traditional style of politics dominated by established parties.

His electoral contest with prominent leaders in Gulmi-1 had drawn significant attention, with many observers viewing it as a reflection of the growing competition between emerging political forces and traditional parties.

Gyawali congratulated Dhakal on his victory even before the completion of the vote count.