Renu Dahal (Nepali: रेनु दाहाल) is a Nepalese politician and former mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City.[3][4][5] She joined the CPN (Maoist Centre) party in 1994 and became a full-time member of the party in 1996. Dahal is a daughter of the former prime minister and chairman of CPN (MC), Pushpa Kamal Dahal.[6] She was a member (Proportional Representation) of First Constituent Assembly of Nepal.
Renu Dahal | |
|---|---|
| रेनु दाहाल | |
 Renu Dahal In office | |
| Ex Mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City | |
| In office 25 May 2022 – 20 January 2026 | |
| Deputy | Chitrasen Adhikari
|
| Preceded by | Renu Dahal |
| Succeeded by | Chitrasen Adhikari |
| In office 05 August 2017 – 22 April 2022 | |
| Deputy | Parbati Shah Thakuri |
| Succeeded by | Renu Dahal |
| Constituent Assembly Member (PR) | |
| In office 28 May 2008 – 27 May 2012 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 July 1976[1] |
| Party | Nepali Communist Party |
| Spouse | Arjun Pathak |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
She resigned as the mayor of Bharatpur on 20 January 2026 in order to contest 2026 Nepalese general election from Chitwan 3 parliamentary constituency on a Nepal Communist Party election ticket.
Early life
editRenu Dahal was born on July 4, 1976, in Bhimsen Nagar of Shivanagar VDC (now Bharatpur Metropolis) in Chitwan District.[1] She is the second daughter of Pushpa Kamal Dahal (née Prachanda) and Sita Dahal. Dahal has a younger sister, Ganga. Her eldest sister, Gyanu, died of breast cancer in 2014 and her only brother, Prakash, died of a cardiac arrest in 2017.[7]
CA election
edit| Kathmandu 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |
| Nepali Congress | Prakash Man Singh | 15,138 | |
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | Renu Dahal | 4,064 | |
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal | Bharat Mani Jangam | 3,732 | |
| CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) | Bidhya Neupane | 3,501 | |
| Others | 2,499 | ||
| Result | Congress hold | ||
| Source: Election Commission | |||
2017 Bharatpur municipal election
edit2017 election
editIn 2017, Renu Dahal won the mayorship with 43,127 votes against Devi Prasad Gyawali of the UML, who received 42,924 votes. However, her victory was highly controversial.
Reportedly, some ballot papers were torn when the then Chief Election Officer, Kabi Prasad Neupane, went to the toilet while the votes were being counted. After that, the then UML mayoral candidate, Gyawali, claimed that the ballot papers were torn in a planned manner after the Maoists were sure to lose.
There was a dispute in the counting of votes, stating that the ink of the swastika on the ballot paper was smeared excessively and was to be declared null and void. However, the case reached the court through the Election Commission. After that, it was ordered that there would be a re-election in ward 19 of the Bharatpur metropolis. Renu Dahal won the election by 203 votes.[8]
| 2017 Nepalese local elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Status |
| MC | Renu Dahal | 43,127 | Elected |
| UML | Devi Gyawali | 42,924 | Lost |
2022 Bharatpur municipal elections
editThe CPN (Maoist Centre) nominated Renu Dahal, daughter of party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as its mayoral candidate in Bharatpur.
During an election program in Bharatpur, Pushpa Kamal Dahal stated that the country would face disaster if Nepali Congress supporters did not vote for the Maoist election symbol. In his speech, he remarked: "Let me warn you that if the NC supporters do not vote for the Maoist candidate in Bharatpur this time, there is a possibility that the country could plunge into an accident.”[9]
The statement was widely criticized both within and outside Dahal's party. Ganesh Sah, a senior leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre), said that there was no culture of collective leadership in the party and that it was well known why Prachanda was particularly focused on Bharatpur.[10] Other senior leaders, including Anjana Bisankhe and Indra Bahadur Angbo, also criticized the chairman’s strong involvement in Bharatpur, noting that it was the constituency of both him and his daughter.[11]
Similarly, Jagannath Paudel, a Nepali Congress leader who contested as an independent mayoral candidate, claimed that Dahal’s speech had strengthened his own prospects and that no alliance could prevent his victory. It was also predicted that some Nepali Congress supporters would internally back Paudel against Dahal.[12]
2022 election
edit| 2022 Bharatpur municipal election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Status |
| Nepali Congress
(Independent) |
Jagannath Paudel | 14,728 | |
| Maoist Centre | Renu Dahal | 52,030 | Elected |
| CPN (UML) | Bijay Subedi | 39,581 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 "Renu Dahal". election2013.ujyaaloonline.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ "Prachanda's daughter battles cancer in India". www.hindustantimes.com. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ "Renu Dahal elected mayor of Bharatpur metropolis". The Himalayan Times. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ Paudel, Ramesh Kumar. "Renu Dahal elected as mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City". My Republica. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ "Bharatpur re-election: Renu Dahal turns the tables on Devi Gyawali". kathmandupost.ekantipur.com. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ "Renu Dahal elected mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City". Nepali Reporter. 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ "Dahal loses only son Prakash". kathmandupost.ekantipur.com. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ Paudel, Ramesh Kumar. "Renu Dahal wins Bharatpur mayoral race". My Republica. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ↑ "Country will plunge into a disaster if NC supporters do not vote for Maoist's election symbol in Bharatpur, says Prachanda". Khabarhub. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ↑ "Dahal's theatrics and his fixation with Bharatpur stoke discontent in party". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ↑ SERVICE, HIMALAYAN NEWS (2022-05-06). "Bharatpur mayoral race takes centre stage". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ↑ "संयुक्त सभापछिको भरतपुर : प्रचण्ड थोरै आश्वस्त, जगन्नाथ आक्रामक". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2022-05-08.