Rastriya Swatantra Party Becomes Second-Largest PR Party in Karnali Province

In the House of Representatives election, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has emerged as the second-largest party under the proportional representation system in Karnali Province, despite winning only one seat through the direct electoral system.

In the province’s 12 constituencies, RSP secured 129,736 votes, placing it second. The Nepali Congress ranked first with 134,333 votes, while the CPN-UML came third with 111,711 votes. The Nepal Communist Party, which considers Karnali its stronghold, finished fourth with 99,842 votes.

In Jumla, Gyanendra Shahi of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party won the direct election with 14,816 votes, while his party received 15,357 proportional votes in the province.

In Rukum West, Janardan Sharma of the Progressive Democratic Party secured 14,346 votes and finished third, while his party received 8,229 votes from Karnali under the proportional system.

According to the Election Commission Nepal, the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) led by Netra Bikram Chand received 5,844 votes. RSP candidates also lost their deposits in most constituencies except the two constituencies in Surkhet, **Dailekh District Constituency No. 1, and Salyan District.