Matrika Yadav, 78, who began his political journey with the Nepali Congress during the 1977 movement against the Panchayat system, has been elected from Dhanusha constituency No. 1.

Yadav secured victory with 10,428 votes, defeating his closest rival, Ram Paltan Sah of the Nepali Congress, who received 9,485 votes. The candidacy of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Kishori Sah Kamal was annulled in Dhanusha-1, though votes were still cast in his favour.

A resident of Sabaila in Dhanusha and a leader of the Nepali Communist Party, this marks Yadav’s fourth parliamentary stint. Having previously served as a member of the Interim Legislature and once as a proportional representation (PR) lawmaker, this is his second victory through a direct election.

Yadav was with the Congress during the Panchayat era but parted ways following B P Koirala’s policy of national reconciliation. He served as a member of the Interim Legislature in 2007 and became a PR member of the Constituent Assembly in 2008. Although he won the Dhanusha-1 seat in 2017, he was defeated in 2022.

In 2009, following a disagreement with party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, he resigned from his ministerial post. He subsequently reorganised the CPN (Maoist) and served as its coordinator before returning to the CPN (Maoist Centre) in 2016, eight years later.

Yadav’s involvement with the communist movement dates back to the fourth general convention of the CPN in 1974. He participated in the 1979 protests as well as the national referendum that year. A two-time president of the Free Student Union at Siraha Campus, Yadav also faced imprisonment during his years in communist politics.

He joined the communist party led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal in 1994. When the party transformed into the CPN (Maoist) and launched the underground insurgency in 1995, Yadav was assigned command of Dhanusha district. From the armed struggle to serving as a member of the peace talks committee, Yadav has since held three ministerial portfolios after the Maoists entered mainstream politics.