# 2022 Dhangadhi municipal election

Municipal election for Dhangadhi took place on 13 May 2022, with all 97 positions up for election across 19 wards. The electorate elected a mayor, a deputy mayor, 19 ward chairs and 76 ward members. An indirect election will also be held to elect five female members and an additional three female members from the Dalit and minority community to the municipal executive.
Independent candidate Gopal Hamal was elected mayor of the sub-metropolitan city defeating incumbent mayor Nrip Bahadur Wad of the Nepali Congress. Congress however regained control of the council.

## Background

Dhangadhi was established in 1976 as a municipality. The sub-metropolitan city was created in 2015 by incorporating neighboring village development committees into Dhangadhi municipality. Electors in each ward elect a ward chair and four ward members, out of which two must be female and one of the two must belong to the Dalit community.
In the previous election, Nrip Bahadur Wad from Nepali Congress was elected as mayor.

## Candidates

| Party | Mayor candidate | Deputy Mayor candidate |
| Nepali Congress | Nrip Bahadur Wad | |
| Independent | Gopal Hamal | |
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | | Durga Dutt Pant |
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Rana Bahadur Chand | Kandakala Rana Tharu |
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | | Shanti Adhikari |
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | Kalendra Airee | |
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal | Basanta Bahadur Bishwakarma | |
| Nagarik Unmukti Party | Nim Kumar Chaudhary | Sabitra Chaudhary |

## Opinion poll

| Date | News agency | Sample size | Gopal Hamal | Nrip Bahadur Wad | Rana Bahadur Chand | None | Undecided | Result |
| 10 May 2022 | Setopati | 100 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 14 | 4 | Hung |
| 10 May 2022 | Setopati | 100 | 39% | 31% | 21% | 14% | 4% | Hung |

## Results
### Mayoral election

Mayoral elections result :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Gopal Hamal | 26,865 | 51.8% | +27.7% |
| | Congress | Nrip Bahadur Wad | 14,817 | 28.6% | −1.4% |
| | CPN (UML) | Rana Bahadur Chand | 9,115 | 17.6% | −3.2% |
| | Nagrik Unmukti | Nim Kumar Chaudhary | 805 | 1.6% | New |
| | Others | | 276 | 0.5% | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 51,878 | 100.0% | |
| | Independent gain from Congress | Independent gain from Congress | Swing | +14.6% | |
Deputy mayoral elections result :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | CPN (UML) | Kandakala Kumari Rana | 15,479 | 39.0% | +10.4% |
| | Maoist Centre | Shanti Kumari Adhikari | 12,670 | 32.0% | +9.0% |
| | Independent | Prabha Kar Bhandari | 6,609 | 16.7% | New |
| | RPP | Durga Dutt Pant | 3,301 | 8.3% | +3.9% |
| | Nagrik Unmukti | Sabitri Devi Chaudhary | 1,133 | 2.9% | New |
| | Bibeksheel Sajha | Bimala Pant | 461 | 1.2% | New |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 39,653 | 100.0% | |
| | CPN (UML) gain from Congress | CPN (UML) gain from Congress | Swing | +24.8% | |

### Ward results

Summary of Partywise Ward chairman and Ward member seats won, 2022 :
| Party | Party | Chairman | Members |
| | Nepali Congress | 11 | 48 |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) | 6 | 24 |
| | CPN (Maoist Centre) | 2 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 19 | 76 |

#### Summary of results by ward

* Position
* Chairman
* Open Member 1
* Open Member 2
* Female Member
* Female Dalit Member
* Source: Election Commission |||||||||||||||||||

## Council formation

| Party | Party | Mayor | Deputy Mayor | Ward Chairman | Ward Members | Total seats | Remarks |
| | Independent | 1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Nepali Congress | | | 11 | 48 | 59 | Majority |
| | Communist Party of Nepal (UML) | | | 6 | 24 | 30 | |
| | CPN (Maoist Centre) | | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
| Total | Total | 1 | 1 | 19 | 76 | 97 | 49 for Majority |