During the by-election for the vacant post of Member of the House of Representatives of
Bagmati Pradesh, there was a lot of discussion about candidate Ram Bahadur Thapal Badal.
Many talked more about defeat than victory. Not to mention that Home Minister Thapa has lost
the election. UML candidate Dr. Khim Lal Devkota has won the election held in Hetauda of
Makawanpur district on April 20.
Dr. Devkota won with 5,088 votes while Thapa got 4,014 votes. In the by-election, there were
348 voters including 238 village chairpersons and vice chairpersons and municipal chiefs and
deputy chiefs of Bagmati province. Similarly, 48 votes were cast for the state assembly and 18
votes were cast for the chief and deputy chief of the municipality. The number of Corona-
infected voters was 25.
Thapa, a candidate from the CPN (Maoist), was disqualified on the charge of abandoning the
Maoist center. Badal had nominated his candidature for the vacant seat. Also, Dr. Khim Lal
Devkota had given his candidature from UML. Madhav Nepal had played a role in making
Devkota the opposition.
Oli, who was under pressure, had sat down for talks, dismissing the actions of four leaders,
including Nepal. Even during the talks, the Nepali side has voted for Devkota to win. Prime
Minister Oli had issued a statement threatening to vote for Badal. But his threat was in vain. In
the end, Devkota won with the support of the Nepali Congress, the Maoist Center and the UML’s
