December 4: More than a dozen former ministers were defeated in the elections to the House of Representative and Provincial Assembly in Madhes Province. Among them, some were beaten by fresh faces while others could not stand against the old rivals during the November 20 polls.

In Dhanusha, six ex-ministers failed to secure the victory in the polls. CPN-Maoist Center Deputy General Secretary and former Minister Matrika Prasad Yadav was defeated by old rival from Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal’s Dipak Karki in Dhanusha constituency-1. Yadav had secured victory from the same constituency with 26,418 votes while Karki had garnered 17,296 votes in the 2017 election.

Of the three former ministers who had contested the polls from the Dhanusha constituency-2, former minister and Nepali Congress leader Ram Krishna Yadav secured victory by defeating former ministers Umshankar Argariya and Ram Chandra Jha. In the last election held in 2017, Argariya was elected while Jha and Yadav were defeated. In Dhanusha constituency-3, former Minister and Loktantraik Samajwadi Party leader Anil Kumar Jha was defeated by CPN-UML leader Julie Kumari Mahato. UML leader Ragubir Mahaseth defeated Nepali Congress Joint General Secretary and former minister Mahendra Yadav in Dhanusha constituyency-4.

Likewise, CPN-Unified Socialist leader and former minister Satrudhan Mahato was trounced by UML leader Hari Narayan Mahato in the province assembly polls in Dhanusha-6.

 While six former ministers failed to win the polls in Dhanusha, four ministers lost the general elections in the neighbouring district of Siraha.

NC leader and former minister Padam Narayan Chaudhary lost the election to UML’s Ram Shankar Yadav in Siraha-1. NC leader and former minister Chitra Lekha Yadav lost the polls in Siraha constituency-2. UML leader Lilanath Shrestha defeated Maoist leader and former Minister Biswonath Sah in constituency-3. Janata Samajwadi Party’s Birendra Prasad Mahato defeated former Minister Dharmanath Sah in constituency-4.

In Saptari constituency-2, former Deputy Prime Minister Upendra Yadav lost the polls to Janamat Party’s Chief Dr CK Raut. In Mahottari, two ministers were defeated. Maoist Center’s leader and former Minister Girirajmani Pokhrel was defeated by his old rival CPN-UML’s Laxmi Mahato. Pokhrel lost the election by a margin of 1030 votes. Mahato garnered 23,402 votes while Pokhrel got 22,302 votes.