Rastriya Swatantra Party MP Rukesh Ranjit Discusses Bhaktapur Politics and Social Activism on 'Talk Forward'

Kathmandu. After the November 21 Constituent Assembly elections, Rukesh Ranjit's image as a social activist, blood donation campaigner, and businessman transformed into that of a Member of Parliament. Ranjit, who is also the district secretary of the Rastriya Swatantra Party in Bhaktapur, gained further prominence after the election. The reason was his spectacular victory in Bhaktapur Constituency No. 1, a stronghold of the Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party (NMKP) for 35 years, marking an NMKP 'ring out'.

This election result was unbelievable to many. This is because a strong narrative had been established that no one could shake the NMKP in Bhaktapur-1. It was indeed so; even established old parties like Congress, UML, and Maoist had failed to break the NMKP's dominance in this constituency. But the situation changed in this year's election. In the election held on the foundation of the GenZ movement, along with the nationwide wave of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rukesh Ranjit's electoral strategy led to a different outcome in Bhaktapur-1, which was considered 'unchangeable'. Rukesh defeated NMKP candidate Prem Suwal by a margin of over five thousand votes.