KATHMANDU:- Ranju Darshana Neupane of the Rastriya Swatantra Party has been elected to the House of Representatives from Kathmandu Constituency No. 1.

According to Chief Election Officer Churaman Khadka, Neupane secured 15,455 votes, defeating her closest rival Prabal Thapa Chhetri of the Nepali Congress by a margin of 9,091 votes. Thapa Chhetri received 6,364 votes.

Out of 29,774 votes cast in the constituency, 29,082 were valid while 692 were invalid, the election office said.

Thirty-year-old Neupane had joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party from the Bibekshil Sajha Party ahead of the election. Earlier, in the 2074 BS local election, she had contested for the mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City at the age of 21. She also served as the former General Secretary of the Bibekshil Sajha Party.

Neupane holds a master’s degree in political science and counseling psychology. She has worked as a teacher at Thames College and as a guest lecturer at Nicholson International College. She is known as a social activist advocating the right to information, freedom of expression and civil rights.