Tokha in northern Kathmandu has been a shelter for the then CPN-ML (now UML) since the 1970s. Following the Piskar incident in 1983, Amrit Bohara and Asta Laxmi Shakya lived here underground and dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to building the organization.
To avoid the eyes of the then administration, leftists established the Nhuja Library in Tokha. In Newari, this means "New Ray." This "New Ray" library became a significant foundation for the underground ML to expand its organization in northern Kathmandu.
Tokha has its own social-cultural value. It is also understood as a city of Lichchhavi-era splendor. Comprising clustered houses, about 1,200 households, and a population of nearly 6,000, Tokha is an ancient Newar settlement and a stronghold for leftists.
"At that time, Tokha was such a safe residential site for leftists that a meeting of the underground ML was held here in the 70s, at a time when the debate over party freedom versus political freedom had become intense. The organizational network extended since the underground period has not been broken until now," said Dipendra Shrestha, a local of Tokha who is also the General Secretary of the UML's Intellectual Council.
ANNFSU, which was close to the then ML, also held its national conference in Tokha in 1987. Ghanashyam Bhusal was a fiery student leader at the time.
In Kathmandu-5, which includes the leftist-influenced area of Tokha, Ishwar Pokharel—who is connected to a long legacy of the UML movement—is competing again. He is among the top leaders competing in the constituencies of the Kathmandu Valley. In this election, very few top leaders are in the fray within the Kathmandu Valley.
Most of the top leaders contesting are competing from Kathmandu-5. in addition to Pokharel, Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Pradip Paudel and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Kamal Thapa are also contesting in this constituency.
Pokharel is competing from this constituency for the sixth time. Meanwhile, NC General Secretary Paudel and Kamal Thapa are competing for the second time. Other candidates are mostly competing for the first time.
Before discussing about the candidates, let’s analyze the previous elections in this constituency.
Kathmandu-5 also includes four wards of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (Wards 2, 3, 4, and 5). In the last local election, UML won all four. Similarly, in the 2017 election as well, UML had won these wards.
Likewise, wards 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Budhanilkantha municipality are also included. Among these Budhanilkantha wards, an independent candidate won ward 3. Wards 4 and 5 were won by NC while wards 6 and 7 were won by UML.
Some wards of Tokha Municipality (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) are also included in this constituency. UML has won the mayor's post along with wards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. NC won only ward 6 along with the deputy mayor.
That is to say, out of the 15 wards falling within this constituency, UML won 11, NC three, and an independent one.
However, in recent parliamentary elections, UML has not been able to produce very satisfactory results except for the 2017 election.
Before the First Constituent Assembly Election in 2008, this area was like a UML fortress. In the 1981 National Panchayat election, Nani Maiya Dahal and Jogmeher Shrestha had won from Kathmandu. In the 1986 election, leftist (pro-people) candidates Padma Ratna Tuladhar and Bimal Man Singh were elected.
The area falling in Kathmandu-5 now was included in Kathmandu-3 after the political changes of 1990. Tuladhar was elected from that constituency.
In 1986, Tuladhar had been a pro-people candidate using the Sun election symbol. After the Janaandolan in 1990, UML made the Sun its election symbol. Tuladhar won the election for a second time with the Sun symbol.
UML Chairman Manmohan Adhikari was elected from that constituency in 1994. He was simultaneously elected from Kathmandu-1 as well but he left Kathmandu-1 and retained the Kathmandu-3 seat.
After that election, UML got to lead a minority government and Adhikari became the prime minister. Ishwar Pokharel, who was then a central member, was PM Adhikari’s chief advisor.
In the 1999 election, Adhikari was again a candidate from Kathmandu-3. However, he passed away before the election. In the election moved to June 1999, Pokharel became candidate as Adhikari’s political successor and won. Pokharel’s political connection with that constituency has continued since then.
In 2008, Kathmandu was divided into 10 constituencies. The erstwhile Kathmandu-3 was changed to Kathmandu-5.
In the first Constituent Assembly Election, Pokharel became a candidate from Kathmandu-5 for the second time. However, he was defeated by NC leader Narahari Acharya.
In the Second Constituent Assembly Election in 2013, Pokharel again suffered a defeat at the hands of the same Acharya.
Pokharel, however, emerged victorious in the 2017 election. Acharya, who is still dealing with physical health challenges, was not a candidate in the 2017 election. At that time, NC had fielded Prakash Sharan Mahat from the constituency.
UML and the then CPN (Maoist Center) had formed an electoral alliance in 2017. Pokharel, who was the alliance candidate, was elected with 23,029 votes. Mahat received just 13,169 votes.
In the 2022 election, Pokharel suffered another defeat. NC had fielded Pradip Paudel to challenge Pokharel. Paudel was elected with 15,269 votes while Pokharel got 10,190 votes.
UML, NC and RPP are all fielding heavyweights this time. Apart from Pokharel, Paudel, and Thapa, there are 25 candidates in this constituency including five independent.
The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) has fielded Kalpana Sharma in this constituency. She is a familiar face who has been active in this geography since the peace process and comes from a political family.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has fielded Sasmit Pokharel. Pokharel, who was also an active worker of the Bibeksheel Sajha Party, was a candidate in this constituency before as well. He was a candidate from Kathmandu-5 (1) in the 2022 Provincial Assembly election and came fifth receiving 1,052 votes.
Sasmit Pokharel had also worked in the secretariat of former Kathmandu Metropolitan Mayor Balen Shah. Additionally, he had worked in the secretariat of Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, who was elected as a federal lawmaker from Kathmandu-8 in 2022.
Besides these candidates, the Gatishil Loktantrik Party has fielded artist Nisha Adhikari. Adhikari, who also has an image as a mountain climber, has become a candidate for the first time upon entering politics. She is currently campaigning door-to-door with plans to introduce issues of community health, elderly care, and women's rights into the parliament.
Even though there is a strong party base at the local level, UML candidate Pokharel is made to work very hard to turn it in his favor.
Paudel expects the result to be pleasant this time too having won by a wide margin in the previous election. Having avoided controversy as the minister for health and population since becoming lawmaker, Paudel seems to believe that the voters trust he can work, and he can convert that trust into votes.
Sasmit Pokharel, however, feels that the Gen-Z Movement and the political waves it created have changed the psychology of the general public and especially urban voters. His assessment is that if the growing alienation toward old parties can be turned in his favor, he will comfortably win the seat.
The legacy of the Bibeksheel movement is also connected to this constituency. Ujjwal Thapa, the founder of the movement, was a candidate from this constituency in 2017. In fact, he had been a candidate in this constituency since 2013. In 2017, he got respectable 6,853 votes.
Sasmit Pokharel appears firm that since he brought respectable votes even when running independently in the Provincial Assembly election, the recent RSP wave will lead him to victory.
In the 2022 election, Pranay Shumsher Rana of RSP got 5,477 votes. As RSP secured the highest proportional representation (PR) votes in Kathmandu-5 in the last election (11,647 votes), Sasmit Pokharel assesses that winning this time is not difficult.
Kathmandu-5, which spreads north-south from the ancient city of splendor Tokha to the Narayanhiti area, sees the residence of urban elites. High-ranking officials from security agencies and the civil service also reside here. They often prove to be decisive.
RPP also has a fair presence in Kathmandu-5. In the 2022 election, Ram Prasad Upreti of RPP secured 3,162 votes. In the Provincial Assembly election, RPP was even victorious in Kathmandu-5 (1) with Rajendra Prajapati getting 4,304 votes. This provincial constituency is the core urban area.
The vote base of the NCP, including erstwhile Maoist Center and CPN (Unified Socialist), in this constituency is relatively very weak. In the 2017 and 2022 elections, there were no candidates from the then Maoist Center in the constituency.
In 2017, Maoist Center had an alliance with UML while Unified Socialist had yet to split from UML. Both Maoist Center and Unified Socialist had an alliance with NC in 2022. Maoist Center had received 1,224 PR votes in 2022 while Unified Socialist got 606 PR votes.
