Former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, has been elected to Nepal’s House of Representatives from the Rukum East-1 constituency, emerging as one of the few prominent leaders from traditional political parties to secure victory in the parliamentary elections held on Thursday.

Prachanda received 10,240 votes, defeating his closest rival Lilamani Gautam of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), who secured 3,462 votes, according to the Election Commission of Nepal. The victory allows Prachanda to retain his presence in national politics even as several major party leaders face tough contests in the ongoing electoral process.

Despite Prachanda’s win, the performance of established political parties in the election has been widely viewed as underwhelming. Parties such as the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML are facing strong competition from newer political forces. Former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa are reportedly trailing candidates from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, including Balen Shah and Amaresh Kumar Singh.

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Political observers note that Prachanda chose to contest from Rukum East-1, a region considered a traditional stronghold of former Maoist rebels. Critics have argued that he avoided contesting from Gorkha-2, the constituency he won in the 2022 elections, due to concerns about a possible defeat.

Prachanda entered mainstream politics after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006, which ended the decade-long Maoist insurgency. He was first elected to the Constituent Assembly in 2008 from Kathmandu-10 and Rolpa-2 and later won the 2013 Constituent Assembly election from Siraha-5. In the 2017 parliamentary elections under Nepal’s new constitution, he was elected from Chitwan-3 before securing victory from Gorkha-2 in 2022.

Although the strength of his party has declined since its strong showing in the 2008 elections, Prachanda has remained a central figure in Nepalese politics. Over the years, he has served multiple terms as prime minister, often forming governments with the support of major parties such as the Nepali Congress or the CPN-UML.

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