Candidates for mayor in Kirtipur Municipality, where a by-election is being held on December 1, have started their election campaign. In the race are a total of 20 candidates—nine from various political parties and 11 independents.
In the 2022 local elections, independent candidates presented a formidable challenge to political party candidates in various local units. Independent candidates won mayorships in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City and the Dhangadhi Municipality. Will the outcome in Kirtipur be different this time, or will the traditional parties prevail?
The by-election comes after the death of Rajkumar Nakarmi, former Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality, who died in July due to kidney failure. He had won on a Nepali Congress ticket.
Major political parties including the Congress, the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) have fielded their candidates. But the fourth largest political party in the House of Representatives, the Rastriya Swatantra Party, did not field anyone reportedly after failing to find a suitable candidate.
The candidates include Krishnaman Dangol from the Congress, Surendra Manandhar from the UML, and Shiva Sharan Maharjan from the Maoist Centre. Besides these, seventeen others, including 11 independents, have filed their nominations.
Candidates from other parties include Dil Kumar Maharjan of the Nepal Samajbawadi Party, Shri Krishna Maharjan of the Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party, Dhurba Maharjan of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Keshav Shrestha of the Janamat Party.
In the 2022 local elections, the Congress candidate Nakarmi won the mayorship with 9,043 votes, while his closest competitor, Keshav Ratna Bajracharya of the UML, secured 5,507 votes. The Maoist Centre’s Shiva Saran Maharjan, who is contesting for the position in the by-election, had obtained 4,090 votes then.
Of the total 31,112 registered voters, almost 14,000 live in the core area of Kirtipur, and the remaining 17,000 reside in the peripheral regions. The core area includes the municipality’s wards 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, including Tyanglaphat, whereas the peripheral areas include wards 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The core area is predominantly inhabited by the Newar community, while the peripheral region is more diverse with migrants in big numbers.
Political leaders and analysts say that the peripheral region will be decisive in the election.
But Congress candidate Krishnaman Dangol disputes this claiming that the concept of peripheral region is a misrepresentation. “The area that some people call ‘peripheral’ is in fact the core of Kirtipur,” Dangol told the Post. “From Nagau, Panga, Bhajungle, to Chobhar all are part of Kirtipur’s core area.”
UML candidate Surendra Manandhar agrees with Dangol and says dividing the local unit along community lines is not a good idea.
Dangol, the Congress candidate, considers UML’s Manandhar his close competitor, but some local residents say the true challenge could come from the Maoist Centre’s Shiva Sharan Maharjan, who had a strong showing in the 2022 local election.
“Majarjan already contested and did well. The UML’s Manandhar is new, therefore we believe there will be a tough competition between the Congress and the Maoist Centre,” said a local resident.
The Maoist Centre has also forged an electoral alliance with the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Janata Samajbadi-Nepal, led by Upendra Yadav, to strengthen its bid.
“I lost the previous election due to a technical mistake, but this time, we are confident of a win,” the Maoist Centre candidate Maharjan told the Post. He said his chances have improved due to the growing public disenchantment towards the current ruling Congress-UML coalition.
But UML’s Manandhar appears unbothered by the competition. He said he is better prepared than others and is confident of a win.
For the Congress, the contest appears more difficult as former Congress party members are running as independents. Kabir Kumar Maharjan and Dinesh Kumar Adhikari, who were previously with the Congress, are among the independent candidates.
“The situation of Congress is different. For other parties, winning adds a seat, but losing doesn’t make much difference because they hadn’t won this seat in the previous election,” Himal Karki, a local Congress leader, told the Post. “But, for Congress, there’s a pressure to win because this is a seat our party earlier won.”
An overwhelming presence of independent candidates makes the contest more complex for Congress, as local figures who have established their own identity in Kirtipur, such as Rajman Manav, are getting considerable voter attention.
Harka Sampang, the independent mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, has also expressed his support for Manav. Sampang is set to join Manav’s election campaign starting from November 23.
“Harka Sampang will be in Kirtipur for my election campaign,” Manav told the Post.
Congress candidate Dangol, meanwhile, does not consider Manav as a competitor. He claimed that Manav is a former UML cadre and quit the party to focus on social activities, especially sanitation campaigns. “So Manav could draw UML votes, not ours,” Dangol said.
Meanwhile, Suresh Maharjan, a Kirtipur resident who identifies himself as a Maoist Centre sympathiser, says the votes garnered by independent candidates will determine the election’s outcome.
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