CK Raut re-elected Janamat chair, Sanjay Yadav elected general secretary

Dr CK Raut has been re-elected chair of the Janamat Party, securing 958 votes in the party’s second general convention held in Birgunj.

A total of 1,126 votes were cast in the election, with all votes declared valid, according to the results released by the party’s Central Election Committee on October 4.

Although Raut was the only candidate for the chairperson’s post, voting was held because the party statute requires candidates to secure at least 20% of the valid votes to be elected. Raut secured about 85% of the votes cast.

Sanjay Kumar Yadav of Siraha was elected general secretary with 618 votes. Yadav is a member of the Madhesh Provincial Assembly and a former minister.

Mamata Jha of Saptari received 220 votes, and former general secretary Chandan Kumar Singh of Mahottari received 165 votes. The Election Committee said both failed to cross the 20% threshold required under the party statute.

Anita Kumari Mandal of Siraha received the highest number of votes among the seven elected vice-chairs, with 608. Anita Devi Sah of Dhanusha received 606, Narendra Prasad Chaudhary of Kapilvastu 603, Basant Kumar Kushwaha of Rautahat 585, Jayakant Raut of Saptari 573, Raj Kumar Yadav of Siraha 556 and Madhav Prasad Singh of Parsa 396.

Nirmal Kumar Mandal of Siraha was elected deputy general secretary with 501 votes, defeating Rautahat’s Lalit Chandra Mallik, who received 414 votes.

Seven secretaries were also elected. They are Surendra Sharma ‘Madhesi’, Paras Prasad Sah, Santosh Raj Sahani, Anjani Devi, Radha Kumari Yadav, Harendra Chaudhary and Bal Govinda Chaudhary.

The convention also elected members to the party’s central executive committee. Some candidates who received enough votes were not elected because of district quota limits, while others failed to cross the 20% threshold.

Inquiry into missing names from voter list

The Election Committee has formed a five-member panel to investigate complaints that some eligible representatives were left out of the voter list.

According to the Election Committee, the panel is coordinated by the chair of the Central Election Committee, Sanjay Kumar Singh, and includes the head of the party’s Central Secretariat and district chairs from Saptari, Siraha and Kapilvastu, where it said comparatively more complaints had been received.

The panel has been instructed to submit its report within 15 days.

The committee said only representatives who had renewed their active membership within the prescribed period were included in the final voter list, regardless of their seniority or position in the party.

The investigation follows complaints raised during the convention over omissions from the electoral roll.

From six seats to none

The convention comes after a sharp decline in Janamat’s electoral performance.

The party won six seats in the 2022 House of Representatives election but failed to win a constituency in the March 5, 2026 election. Its proportional representation vote also fell to 79,435, from 394,655 in 2022.

The second general convention came more than five years after Janamat’s first, which was held in Janakpur in April 2021, when Raut was elected party chair. The party had originally scheduled the second convention for September 25–26 but postponed it because of adverse weather.

Madhes parties urged to unite to protect rights

Meanwhile, leaders of Madhes-based parties have called for unity to protect constitutional rights gained through years of struggle and sacrifice.

Speaking at the inauguration of the convention in Birgunj, they warned that the rights of Madhesis, women, Dalits and other marginalised communities face growing threats.

JSP Nepal Chair Upendra Yadav said political achievements, identity and rights were under threat and urged Madhes-based parties to work together. He also called for proportional representation of Madhesis in state bodies.

Noting that many political issues raised by Madhes-based parties are common, Yadav said they should move forward through cooperation rather than pursuing separate paths. He also emphasised the need to ensure representation of the Madhesi community in state bodies in proportion to its population.

Other leaders stressed people-centered politics and said an equitable Nepal cannot be built without ensuring the rights of marginalised communities. 

Chairperson of the Nepal Federal Socialist Party, Rizwan Ansari, said Madhes-based parties should shift away from power-centered politics and adopt people-centered and results-oriented political practices.

He said an equitable Nepal cannot be built without ensuring the rights of Madhesis, Indigenous nationalities, Dalits, Muslims, Tharus, women and all oppressed and marginalised communities.