Harka Raj Rai

Harka Raj Sampang Rai (or Harka Sampang; Nepali: हर्कराज साम्पाङ राई) is a Nepalese politician and the current mayor of Dharan.^[1][2][3] Rai is also a social activist.^[4][5] He has been elected as an independent candidate for the post Mayor, having 'Walking stick/Lauro' as the electoral symbol via the 2022 local election.^[6][7] He defeated Nepali Congress candidate Kishore Rai by receiving 20,821 votes.^[8][9]

Honourable Mayor Harka Raj Rai
हर्कराज राई
6th Mayor of Dharan
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 May 2022
Deputy	Aindra Bikram Begha
Preceded by	Tilak Rai
Personal details
Born	1983 (age 41–42) Khartamchha, Khotang, Nepal
Political party	Independent
Parent	Til Bikram Rai (father)
Profession	Politician

Early life and education

Rai was born in Khartamchha, Khotang which is in present-day Kepilasgadhi rural municipality. His father was a former British Gurkha soldier. He moved to Dharan in 1998 after completing his SLC examinations to pursue higher education.^[10] He graduated in Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English and Political Science from. Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan and started work as a tutor.^[11] After completing his higher education he had gone to Iraq and Afghanistan for employment.^[12][13]

Political career

Rai contested the 2019 by-elections for the mayor of Dharan as an independent but only managed to get 422 votes.^[12] He again contested for the post of mayor at the 2022 elections still as an independent and was elected after getting a vote share of 39.8%.^[1]

Activism

After six years working abroad he returned to Dharan and opened the National Unity Network to protest against corruption. He was also involved in protests against tax raises, illegal sand extraction from rivers and the water scarcity in Dharan.^[13] In 2016, Rai became the coordinator of people displaced by the expansion of the Madan Bhandari Inner Terai Highway.^[12][11] He built Shram Sanskriti Park to showcase the history of Dharan.

Electoral history

2022 Dharan municipal election

Mayoral elections result

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Harka Raj Rai	20,821	39.8%	+39.0%
	Congress	Kishore Rai	16,051	30.7%	−19.0%
	CPN (UML)	Manju Bhandari Subedi	12,825	24.5%	−20%
	RPP	Naresh Kumar Shakya	1,488	2.8%	+2.5%
	Others		1,142	2.2%
Total votes			52,335	100.0%
Rejected ballots			10,562
Turnout			62,897
Registered electors			100,324
	Independent gain from Congress		Swing	+29.0%

Controversies

In 2023–2025, Mayor Harka Sampang was involved in several controversies:

• He was accused of inciting an assault on a community representative during a dispute in Dharan.^[14]
• He filed defamation complaints against two journalists for allegedly portraying him as an extortionist.^[15]
• He was investigated for allegedly ordering unauthorized tree cutting in Dharan-20.^[16]
• He bypassed the Deputy Mayor while appointing an acting mayor, contrary to legal protocol.^[17]
• His confrontational behavior toward journalists was highlighted in an investigative report.^[18]
• He later issued a public apology following criticism.^[19]