The Shram Sanskriti Party, led by Harka Sampang, has a strong chance of becoming a national party.
According to the vote count as of 12 p.m. on Monday, the Shram Sanskriti Party has secured 297,083 votes.
The Election Commission reports that 4,094,659 votes have been counted by midday, meaning the party has currently obtained 3.5 percent of the proportional representation (PR) votes.
To achieve the status of a national party, a political party must win at least one seat in the first-past-the-post (direct) category and secure a minimum of 3 percent of the total votes in the PR category.
In the FPTP category, Harka Sampang himself has been elected from Sunsari-1, while Dhruba Raj Rai from Bhojpur and Aaren Rai from Khotang have also been elected from the Shram Sanskriti Party.
If the party maintains its current PR vote proportion, its recognition as a national party will be confirmed.
In the elections held on March 5, a total of 10,977,711 votes were cast. Based on current trends, around 500,000 votes are expected to be declared invalid. At this rate, a party will need approximately 312,000 votes to cross the threshold for national status. This means the Shram Sanskriti Party now requires only about 15,000 more votes.
The party has strong chances of attaining national status because many votes are yet to be counted in the districts of Koshi province, where the party's support is strongest.
In Bhojpur alone, more than half of the votes are yet to be counted. Dhruba Raj Rai, who was elected from there, has secured 16,663 votes.
According to Chief Election Officer Narayan Prasad Dahal, only 20,000 out of 58,000 PR votes in Bhojpur have been counted, leaving 38,000 still to go.
Of the votes counted so far in the district, the Shram Sanskriti Party leads with 5,935 votes, followed by the UML with 4,444.
With counting still pending in Sankhuwasabha, Ilam-1, Achham-2, Bajura, both constituencies of Gorkha, and Dhanusha-1 and 2, the party is well-positioned to become a national force.
