Dadeldhura, Feb. 6 -- For more than three decades, Dadeldhura has been synonymous with one political name-Sher Bahadur Deuba. From 1991 to 2022, voters in Dadeldhura repeatedly sent Deuba to the House of Representatives, propelling him to premiership five times and twice to the helm of the Nepali Congress.

The upcoming election slated on March 5, however, marks a break from that tradition. Deuba, ousted from the party presidency through a special convention that dissolved the central committee he led, was denied a ticket by the new leadership under Gagan Thapa. In his place stands Nain Singh Mahar, a former president of Nepal Students' Union, the student wing of Nepali Congress, carrying both Deuba's blessing and the heavy weight of his ...