Candidate watch: Nain Singh Mahar from Dadeldhura

“This is not just about replacing a leader in Dadeldhura. It is about completing what remains unfinished,” says Nain Singh Mahar, the Nepali Congress stepping into the political space long held by the former party president and prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. 

Mahar casts his bid as a continuation of an incomplete reform agenda, presenting himself as a reform-oriented leader with roots in long-standing political engagement and academic grounding. He has an M.Phil in Political Science and is currently pursuing a Phd in Political Economy at Tribhuvan University. Professionally, Mahar has worked as an academic and journalist, previously serving as a journalist for Kantipur Daily and as a radio correspondent. 

Within the Nepali Congress, he has held multiple leadership roles, including Central Committee Member, central president of its school of democracy, head of its education department, and former president of the Nepal Student Union (NSU). 

As a first-time parliamentary candidate with no prior elected office experience, Mahar frames his campaign around addressing structural challenges in Sudurpaschim, particularly in Dadeldhura. He identifies a persistent psychological and political disconnect between Sudurpaschim and the central government, large-scale youth outmigration, weak transportation management, and limited transparency as central concerns.

His policy focus emphasises legislative action for good governance, transparency, and efficient public service delivery. Education is positioned as a core pillar, with a commitment to securing constitutional guarantees through a 20% national budget allocation. He also stresses the need for evidence-based policymaking, institutional youth participation, empowerment-based gender justice, and creating dignified local opportunities to reduce out migration pressures.

At the constituency level, Mahar outlines a development vision for Dadeldhura as a strategic provincial hub centered on infrastructure, connectivity, education, health, and economic self-reliance. He proposes upgrading the Attariya–Dadeldhura (Bhimdatta) Highway to a four-lane standard, completing the stalled Dadeldhura Airport project, and ensuring full operation of Dadeldhura Medical College so residents don't have to travel to Dhangadhi or India for specialist care. He also supports advancing the West Seti Hydropower Project.

To address outmigration, he advocates for digital education, startup incubation, and skill development for generating local employment. In agriculture, he underscores the importance of transitioning from traditional farming to high-value organic production, including ginger, oranges, and vegetables, with the aim of strengthening district-level self-reliance.

Mahar’s stated goals for the term include transforming youth engagement from symbolic participation to institutional decision-making power, shifting women-focused policy from protection-based approaches to empowerment-driven gender justice, moving from fragmented development to evidence-based policymaking, and replacing migration driven by compulsion with dignified local opportunity.

Sidebar

Top priority if elected

• Education:  Pushing for 20% budget allocation to the education sector to ensure Constitutional guarantees for quality education
• Dadeldhura as a "Strategic Center": Transforming Dadeldhura from a "pass-through" district into the provincial center for trade, education, and health. This includes: 

1. upgrading the Attariya-Dadeldhura (Bhimdatta) Highway to a standard four-lane road to boost connectivity 
2. ensure the medical college in Dadheldhura is fully operational so that local residents do not have to travel to Dhangadhi or India to access specialist care
3. Complete the stalled Dadeldhura Airport project

• Stopping Out Migration: Create local jobs through "Digital Education" and "Startup/Skill Development" and prevent youth migration
• Education: Ensuring Constitutional Guarantees for quality education are secured by pushing for 20% budget allocation to the sector.

Major concerns

• A persistent psychological and political disconnect between Sudurpaschim and the central government has led to neglect and limited state attention.
• Large-scale youth migration abroad leaving villages depopulated and weakening local economies.
• Poor transportation management slows development and restricts tourism growth.
• Weak transparency and inadequate public representation undermining effective governance.

Previous experiences that best prepare him for the role

• Extensive political experience including various leadership roles within the Nepali Congress

Goals for the term

• Transform youth engagement from symbolic participation to meaningful, institutional decision-making power.
• Shift women-focused policies from protection-centered approaches to empowerment-driven gender justice.
• Move from fragmented development efforts to coherent, evidence-based policymaking.
• Replace migration driven by compulsion with dignified, opportunity-based livelihoods at home.