Jhapa-5 has emerged as a high-profile constituency ahead of the House of Representatives election on Falgun 21. Former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli is set to contest from the constituency for the eighth time.
Oli, who lost power during the Gen-ji movement, will face a new challenge from incumbent Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, a senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), making his parliamentary election debut. Oli, who has served as Prime Minister four times, has continuously contested from this constituency since 2048 BS, except for the 2064 BS Constituent Assembly election, where he was defeated by CPN (Maoist) candidate Bishwadeep Lingden.
In the 2079 election, Oli won with 52,319 votes. At that time, he had formed an electoral alliance with the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). His closest competitor, Congress candidate Khagendra Adhikari, secured 23,743 votes, while RSP candidate Suresh Kumar Pokharel came third with 11,759 votes. The Congress had formed a coalition with CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist) during that election.
In the upcoming election, UML has positioned Oli and RSP has promoted Balen as future Prime Ministerial candidates. The Jhapa-5 constituency includes wards 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Gauriganj Rural Municipality; wards 1 to 8 of Gauradaha Municipality; Damak Municipality; and Kamal Rural Municipality. The Nepali Communist Party has fielded Ranjit Tamang from this area, while Nepali Congress has yet to finalize its candidate.
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