Kathmandu, April 11
Maoists opened their account in the landmark elections in Nepal, sharing two seats with the Nepali Congress, results for which were announced tonight while early trends in the vote count showed the former rebels leading in 32 out of 57 constituencies.
The elections which are set to usher in democracy ending 240-year-old monarchy saw the first result going to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s Nepali Congress(NC) whose candidate Prakash Man Singh won a prestigious constituency in Kathmandu.
The second result went to the Maoists with Dev Gurung winning from Manang district in north-west Nepal. Manang is a mountainous region with very less population density. Gurung got 1,652 votes against Nepali Congress’s Palten Gurung, who bagged 1,202 votes.
The Nepali Congress(NC) was leading in nine constituencies, while left wing CPN-UML was ahead in 10. Others including the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party were ahead in six. CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal was trailing in Kathmandu-2 to a Maoist candidate.
Maoist chairman Prachanda, Maoist war-time strategist Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal), its spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara and two female Maoist leaders Pampha Bhushal and Hisila Yami are leading in their respective constituencies. Prachanda is leading in Kathmandu -10 and Badal is leading in Chitawan -2 while Mahara is leading in Dang -3.
The Maoists appeared to be doing well in Western Terai, hilly districts and Kathmandu valley while Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML are expected to share the spoils in central and eastern Terai. The election of a 601-seat Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution has been billed as the cornerstone of a 2006 peace deal struck with Maoists.
— PTI
