Rajendra Prasad Lingden

Rajendra Prasad Lingden is a Nepali politician and former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal. He also served as the Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. He is also the chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). He served as a member of the 1st Federal Parliament of Nepal from March 2018.^[2] He was re-elected in 2022 in the 2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal.^[3]

Honourable Rajendra Prasad Lingden MP
राजेन्द्र प्रसाद लिङ्देन
Lingden in 2022
Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal
In office 17 January 2023 – 25 February 2023 Serving with Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Rabi Lamichhane
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime Minister	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation
In office 17 January 2023 – 25 February 2023
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime Minister	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Preceded by	Pampha Bhusal
Chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 December 2021
Preceded by	Kamal Thapa Pashupati Shamsher JBR Prakash Chandra Lohani
Member of Pratinidhi Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 March 2018
Preceded by	Krishna Prasad Sitaula
Constituency	Jhapa 3
Personal details
Born	(1965-09-07) 7 September 1965 (age 59)[1] Panchthar District, Nepal
Nationality	Nepali
Political party	Rastriya Prajatantra Party
Other political affiliations	Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal
Spouse	Sita Thapa
Parent(s)	Man Prasad Lingden (father) Dhan Kumari Lingden (mother)

Early life and education

Rajendra Lingden was born in Amarpur, in Panchthar district,^[4] to Dhan Kumari and Man Prasad Lingden. He married Sita Thapa, they have one daughter and two sons. Lingden was involved in politics from a young age. He has completed his master's degree from Tribhuvan University. He was also nominated for the position of chairman of the District Development Committee of Jhapa during the direct rule of King Gyanendra. He comes from Jhapa-3, constituency.^[1]

Career

Lingden was involved in RPP politics from the beginning of the party's establishment. He held several positions within the party, including General Secretary, before contesting for the position of president in 2021.

On 5 December 2021, Lingden was elected Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party by defeating the incumbent chairman, Kamal Thapa at the party's general convention. Lingden got 1,844 votes, while Kamal Thapa got 1,617 votes. A total of 413 votes were invalidated. Stating that he would accept defeat, Thapa tweeted and congratulated Lingden on his victory.^[5][6]

In the 2017 and 2022 elections, Lingden defeated former Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula. Sitaula was considered Girija Prasad Koirala's right-hand person in bringing Maoists, UML, and other parties together, and his defeat was seen as a rebuke of the Nepali Congress's handling of the aftermath of the peace process.^[7][8]

After the Rastriya Prajatantra Party's strong showing in the 2022 Nepalese general election, where the party won 14 seats, the RPP decided to join the current coalition government under Lingden's leadership. Lingden became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.^[2] On 25 February 2023, Lingden resigned from his posts, and the RPP quit the coalition government being in for less than 40 days.^[9][10]

Electoral history

In the 2017 Nepalese general election, he was elected from the Jhapa 3 constituency, securing 44614 (56.52%) votes.^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes
	Rastriya Prajatantra Party	Rajendra Prasad Lingden	44,614
	Nepali Congress	Krishna Prasad Sitaula	31,171
	CPN (Marxist–Leninist)	Navaraj Kharel	1,306
	Others		1,841
Invalid votes			4,312
Result		RPP gain
Source: Election Commission

In the 2022 Nepalese general election, he was elected from the Jhapa 3 constituency, securing 40,662 (47.94%) votes.

Party		Candidate	Votes
	Rastriya Prajatantra Party	Rajendra Prasad Lingden	40,662
	Nepali Congress	Krishna Prasad Sitaula	37,386
	CPN (Marxist–Leninist)	Navaraj Kharel	3,461
	Others		1,384
Invalid votes			1,915
Result		RPP gain
Source: Election Commission

References

1. संघीय संसद सदस्य, २०७४ परिचयात्मक पुस्तिका [Federal Parliament Members 2017 Introduction Booklet] (PDF) (in Nepali). Nepal: Federal Parliament Secretariat. 2021. p. 270. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2023.
2. "RPP Chairman Lingden resigns as lawmaker to put pressure on ruling parties to end term of current parliament". Republica. 5 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
3. "RPP President Rajendra Lingden elected from Jhapa-3". Republica. 24 November 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
4. "Rajendra Lingden elected Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman". Khabarhub. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
5. Dhakal, Khila Nath (5 December 2021). "Lingden elected RPP chair, Thapa blames ex-king Gyanendra for loss". Setopati. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
6. Khanal, Ishwar Dev (5 December 2021). "Lingden steals the show with a powerful message of generational transfer in politics". Khabarhub. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
7. "Will Lingden exact revenge on Sitaula for abolition of monarchy?". Setopati. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
8. "राप्रपा अध्यक्षमा विजयी राजेन्द्र लिङ्देन को हुन् ?". Online Khabar (in Nepali). 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
9. "Rastriya Prajatantra Party exits government". The Kathmandu Post. 25 February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
10. Sharma, Gopal (25 February 2023). "Nepal's ruling coalition in turmoil as deputy PM and 3 other ministers quit". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
11. "प्रतिनिधि सभा सदस्य निर्वाचन, २०७४" (PDF). Election Commission of Nepal (in Nepali). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
12. "Lingden defeats NC leader Sitaula ni Jhapa-3". The Kathmandu Post. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2021.