Ranju Darshana Wins Nepal Election, Becomes First Declared Victor

Neupane, 30, secured 15,455 votes to win the parliamentary seat, defeating Prabal Thapa of the Nepali Congress, who garnered 6,364 votes. Rabindra Mishra, the candidate of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, secured 3,972 votes.

Darshana won the seat on her second attempt. Her first bid to enter Parliament as an Independent candidate in the 2022 elections had failed.

She first came into the public spotlight during the 2017 local elections, when she contested for the mayoral post of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and secured 23,439 votes, a respectable number, emerging as a prominent face of alternative politics.

Her political journey began in 2013 with the erstwhile Bibeksheel Nepali Party, which led the "Nepal Khulla Chha (Nepal is Open)" campaign protesting against frequent nationwide shutdowns and bandhs imposed by traditional political parties.

After remaining relatively inactive in politics for some time as she focused on motherhood, Darshana made a comeback following the merger of her former party, the Bibeksheel Sajha Party, with the RSP a few months before the latest elections. She had previously served as the general secretary of Bibeksheel Sajha and is now a member of the RSP's central committee.

The Bibeksheel movement is widely credited with laying the foundation of alternative politics in Nepal.

Initially, the RSP had placed Darshana on its proportional representation closed list. However, after she expressed dissatisfaction with her low position on the list, the party withdrew her name and fielded her as a direct candidate from Kathmandu-1 under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system.

Born in March 1996 and raised in Kathmandu by a single mother, Darshana says her upbringing shaped her resilience and commitment to social justice. Her mother supported the family through tailoring and childcare work to ensure her education despite financial hardship.

Darshana holds a Bachelor's degree in Development Studies from Kathmandu University and a Master's degree in Political Science from Tribhuvan University. She has also completed a postgraduate diploma in counselling psychology.

Alongside politics, she conducts mental health awareness programmes, provides basic psychosocial counselling, and teaches undergraduate students at Thames International College in Kathmandu.

- IANS