Harka announces Dhan Bahadur for Dharan mayor candidate

KATHMANDU: Shram Sanskriti Party chair and former Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Harka Sampang has announced his party’s mayoral candidate for the upcoming local elections, nearly a year ahead of the scheduled vote.

Taking to social media, Sampang declared that Dhan Bahadur Rai will be the party’s official candidate for mayor.

Rai, who previously won a ward chair position from CPN-UML, later left the party and joined the Shram Sanskriti Party. He had become close to Sampang after participating in the mayor’s labor-based volunteer initiatives in Dharan, which also led to his recommendation for dismissal from UML by the party’s local committee.

Sampang, who was elected as an independent mayor in a previous election and is known for his “labor donation” campaigns, said he intends to continue his political legacy through Rai. He also hinted at supporting another aspirant, Nina Chandra, by promising her a provincial ministerial role.

“The mayoral candidacy issue has been finalized from today,” Sampang wrote, signaling an early consolidation of his party’s election strategy.