<p>The 2013 Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal have dealt a severe blow to Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda's political career with three of his family members being defeated in the polls.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Considered a strong man in Nepal politics after 2006 when the Maoists decided to shun violence and join the peace process, Prachanda was the centre of attention and emerged as a major leader in Nepal. <br /><br />But as the results of the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections unfolded, his party, the single largest winner in the 2008 elections with 120 seats out of 240 in the first-post-the-past category, faced a humiliating defeat across the country. <br /><br />Several of the party's top leaders bit the dust and many Maoist bastions were demolished that the party had set up during the 2008 elections.<br /><br />According to the Election Commission of Nepal, the Maoist party had won just 24 seats by Saturday morning, lagging far behind traditional forces like centre-right Nepali Congress (NC) and moderate Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), who stood first and second by securing 93 and 80 seats respectively.<br /><br />Earlier, Prachanda faced a humiliating defeat in Kathmandu-10 constituency at the hands of Nepali Congress candidate Rajan KC. <br /><br />Interestingly, Prachanda had defeated Rajan KC in the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008.<br /><br />The defeat, which grabbed national and international headlines, prompted Prachanda to organise a press conference where he warned that his party may not accept the poll results as so many cases of rigging had taken place across the country.<br /><br />Though Prachanda finally managed to win by a narrow margin from Siraha-5 constituency, three of his family members lost the elections.<br /><br />Prachanda's daughter Renu, brother Narayan and sister-in-law Bina Magar Dahal lost. <br /><br />Renu lost from Kathmandu-1 constituency against NC general secretary Prakash Man Singh by a huge margin. His brother Narayan was defeated by CPN-UML candidate Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel in Prachanda's home town Chitwan-3 constituency.<br /><br />Bina was defeated in Kanchanpur-1 constituency by NC candidate Devan Singh Bista. <br /><br />The decision to award tickets to the three family members was widely criticised. Many party leaders termed it "nepotism and favouritism" but Prachanda was adamant.<br /><br />"We are seriously reviewing what happened across the country and why we lost the elections. We have called a meeting of the Politburo and Central Committee Saturday and Sunday to assess the ground reality," said party spokesperson Agni Sapkota.</p>
<p>The 2013 Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal have dealt a severe blow to Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda's political career with three of his family members being defeated in the polls.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Considered a strong man in Nepal politics after 2006 when the Maoists decided to shun violence and join the peace process, Prachanda was the centre of attention and emerged as a major leader in Nepal. <br /><br />But as the results of the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections unfolded, his party, the single largest winner in the 2008 elections with 120 seats out of 240 in the first-post-the-past category, faced a humiliating defeat across the country. <br /><br />Several of the party's top leaders bit the dust and many Maoist bastions were demolished that the party had set up during the 2008 elections.<br /><br />According to the Election Commission of Nepal, the Maoist party had won just 24 seats by Saturday morning, lagging far behind traditional forces like centre-right Nepali Congress (NC) and moderate Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), who stood first and second by securing 93 and 80 seats respectively.<br /><br />Earlier, Prachanda faced a humiliating defeat in Kathmandu-10 constituency at the hands of Nepali Congress candidate Rajan KC. <br /><br />Interestingly, Prachanda had defeated Rajan KC in the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008.<br /><br />The defeat, which grabbed national and international headlines, prompted Prachanda to organise a press conference where he warned that his party may not accept the poll results as so many cases of rigging had taken place across the country.<br /><br />Though Prachanda finally managed to win by a narrow margin from Siraha-5 constituency, three of his family members lost the elections.<br /><br />Prachanda's daughter Renu, brother Narayan and sister-in-law Bina Magar Dahal lost. <br /><br />Renu lost from Kathmandu-1 constituency against NC general secretary Prakash Man Singh by a huge margin. His brother Narayan was defeated by CPN-UML candidate Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel in Prachanda's home town Chitwan-3 constituency.<br /><br />Bina was defeated in Kanchanpur-1 constituency by NC candidate Devan Singh Bista. <br /><br />The decision to award tickets to the three family members was widely criticised. Many party leaders termed it "nepotism and favouritism" but Prachanda was adamant.<br /><br />"We are seriously reviewing what happened across the country and why we lost the elections. We have called a meeting of the Politburo and Central Committee Saturday and Sunday to assess the ground reality," said party spokesperson Agni Sapkota.</p>