KATHMANDU: The recently concluded House of Representatives election has signaled the rise of young faces in Nepali politics, with eight candidates under the age of 30 winning direct seats in the parliament.
The youngest among them is Prashant Upreti, who was elected from Makwanpur-2 at the age of 25. Upreti secured 30,505 votes, defeating Mahesh Kumar Bartaula of the CPN-UML, who received 18,846 votes. Buddha Lama of the Nepali Congress garnered 15,056 votes, while Lav Sher Bista of the Nepali Communist Party received 12,492 votes.
Similarly, KP Khanal, aged 26, was elected from Kailali-2 with 19,057 votes. His closest rival, Patiram Chaudhary of the Nagarik Unmukti Party, secured 11,949 votes.
Another young lawmaker, Manish Khanal, 26, was elected from Nawalpur-2 with 41,347 votes, defeating Til Bahadur Mahat of the UML by a margin of 25,592 votes.
From Rupandehi-2, Sulav Kharel, 28, secured victory with 56,550 votes, defeating UML leader Bishnu Paudel.
Former Minister for Youth and Sports Bablu Gupta was elected from Siraha-1, securing 41,322 votes and defeating Ramsundar Chaudhary.
From Kathmandu-5, Sasmit Pokharel, 29, won with 30,737 votes, defeating Pradeep Paudel and Ishwor Pokharel.
Among female candidates, Nisha Dangi of the Rastriya Swatantra Party was re-elected from Jhapa-1 with 45,680 votes, becoming a directly elected lawmaker at the age of 29 after previously serving as a proportional representation member.
Similarly, Aren Rai, 29, representing the Shram Sanskriti Party, was elected from Khotang-1 with 16,612 votes.
Political observers say the victory of these young lawmakers could bring new perspectives, energy and youth-focused policies into Nepal’s parliament. The results are also seen as a sign of growing youth participation in the country’s political leadership.
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