Harka Raj Rai

Nepali Social activist and politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harka Raj Rai

Harka Raj Sampang Rai (or Harka Sampang; Nepali: हर्कराज साम्पाङ राई) is a Nepalese politician and the current mayor of Dharan.[1][2][3] Rai is also a social activist.[4][5] He has been elected as an independent candidate for the post Mayor, having 'Walking stick/Lauro' as the electoral symbol via the 2022 local election.[6][7] He defeated Nepali Congress candidate Kishore Rai by receiving 20,821 votes.[8][9]

Quick Facts HonourableMayor, 6th Mayor of Dharan ...
Harka Raj Rai
हर्कराज राई
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6th Mayor of Dharan
Assumed office
23 May 2022
DeputyAindra Bikram Begha
Preceded byTilak Rai
Personal details
Born1983 (age 4142)
Khartamchha, Khotang, Nepal
Political partyIndependent
ParentTil Bikram Rai (father)
ProfessionPolitician
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Early life and education

Rai was born in Khartamchha, Khotang which is in present-day Kepilasgadhi rural municipality. His father was a former British Gurkha soldier. He moved to Dharan in 1998 after completing his SLC examinations to pursue higher education.[10] He graduated in Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English and Political Science from. Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan and started work as a tutor.[11] After completing his higher education he had gone to Iraq and Afghanistan for employment.[12][13]

Political career

Rai contested the 2019 by-elections for the mayor of Dharan as an independent but only managed to get 422 votes.[12] He again contested for the post of mayor at the 2022 elections still as an independent and was elected after getting a vote share of 39.8%.[1]

Activism

After six years working abroad he returned to Dharan and opened the National Unity Network to protest against corruption. He was also involved in protests against tax raises, illegal sand extraction from rivers and the water scarcity in Dharan.[13] In 2016, Rai became the coordinator of people displaced by the expansion of the Madan Bhandari Inner Terai Highway.[12][11]

Electoral history

2022 Dharan municipal election

More information Party, Candidate ...
Mayoral elections result
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Harka Raj Rai 20,821 39.8% +39.0%
Congress Kishore Rai 16,051 30.7% −19.0%
CPN (UML) Manju Bhandari Subedi 12,825 24.5% −20%
RPP Naresh Kumar Shakya 1,488 2.8% +2.5%
Others 1,142 2.2%
Total votes 52,335 100.0%
Rejected ballots 10,562
Turnout 62,897
Registered electors 100,324
Independent gain from Congress Swing +29.0%
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References

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