2019 Kaski–2 by-election

A by-election was held in Kaski 2 constituency of Nepal on 30 November 2019, following the death of incumbent Rabindra Prasad Adhikari in a helicopter crash.^[1] Adhikari was a 3-term Member of Parliament from Kaski. He was the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation at the time of his death. The by-election was won by Bidya Bhattarai, his widow, with 54.27% of the vote. She defeated her nearest rival, Khem Raj Paudel of Nepali Congress, by 8,403 votes.^[2]

2019 Kaski 2 by-election

← 2017 30 November 2019 2022 →
Kaski 2
Turnout	63.37%
Candidate Bidya Bhattarai Khem Raj Paudel Party Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Nepali Congress Popular vote 24,394 15,991 Percentage 54.27% 35.58%
MP before election Rabindra Prasad Adhikari (deceased) Nepal Communist Party Elected MP Bidya Bhattarai Nepal Communist Party

Candidates

A total of 21 candidates took part in the election.^[3] Nepal Communist Party (NCP) selected Bidya Bhattarai, widow of Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, as their candidate. Her primary opponent was Khem Raj Paudel of Nepali Congress.^[4]

Result

2019 Kaski–2 by-election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Bidya Bhattarai	Nepal Communist Party	24,394	54.27	–0.95
	Khem Raj Paudel	Nepali Congress	15,991	35.58	–2.28
	Dharma Raj Gurung	Samajbadi Party	1,922	4.28	+2.97
	Rom Bahadur Bhandari	Rastriya Prajatantra Party	1,153	2.57	New
	Rajani K.C.	Sajha Party	942	2.10	New
Other candidates			544	1.21	–
Total			44,946	100.00	–
Valid votes			44,946	98.68
Invalid/blank votes			600	1.32
Total votes			45,546	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			71,871	63.37	–7.20
Majority			8,403	18.45	+1.33
	Nepal Communist Party hold		Swing		+0.67

See also

• 2023 Nepalese by-election