Kathmandu, Dec. 1 -- In the 2017 local elections, a 21-year-old woman stunned not just Kathmandu, but the entire country by garnering an unexpected vote in the mayoral race. She was Ranju Darshana, the Bibeksheel Nepali Party (BNP)'s young candidate whose third-place finish with 23,439 votes drew more attention than the winner himself.UML's Bidya Sundar Shakya won the mayoral race with 64,913 votes, and Nepali Congress's Raju Raj Joshi finished second with 45,269. Independent candidate Kishor Thapa, backed by Rabindra Mishra's Sajha Party, came fourth with 18,496 votes.

For many, the votes secured by Ranju and Ujwal Thapa were a fresh jolt of "alternative politics," and at the center of that spark stood Thapa-the activist regarded as the...