Rajendra Lingden, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), faces a tough battle to secure a "hat-trick" victory in Jhapa Constituency 3. While the constituency has been considered an RPP stronghold for the past decade, a shift in political alliances and the entry of new candidates have put Lingden’s parliamentary journey at risk ahead of the upcoming House of Representatives election on March 5.
For the last two elections, Lingden emerged victorious with the crucial backing of CPN (UML). However, the landscape has changed significantly this time. UML has fielded its own candidate, Hari Rajbanshi, a move expected to split the vote bank Lingden previously relied upon. Rajbanshi, a veteran of the local cooperative movement, claims his deep roots among grassroots voters and his agenda for national interest will secure his win.
The absence of perennial rival and influential Nepali Congress (NC) leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula has further altered the mood. Instead of Sitaula, NC has nominated Rajendra Ghimire, a businessman viewed as a strong organizational leader. Local analysts suggest that by moving past the "Sitaula era," the NC machinery is now more unified and poses a formidable challenge to RPP.
In the 2022 elections, Lingden defeated Sitaula by 3,276 votes while riding on the UML alliance. Data shows that in terms of proportional representation (PR), Nepali Congress ranked first in this region, with RPP and UML trailing closely behind. With 9,425 new voters added to the current pool of 140,857, the impact of these young, undecided voters remains a wild card that could dismantle Lingden's legacy.
Despite the mounting pressure, Lingden remains confident, asserting that his strength lies not in party alliances but in his direct connection with the people. His campaign continues to champion the restoration of the monarchy and a Hindu state, alongside local infrastructure development. Meanwhile, his opponents are aggressively focusing on education, health, and governance, making Jhapa-3 one of the most unpredictable battlegrounds in the upcoming polls.
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