Bikram Pandey is a Nepalese politician belonging to Rastriya Prajatantra Party and constituent assembly member. He was elected to the Pratinidhi Sabha in the 2013 CA election on behalf of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party from Chitwan 5.[3][4]

Bikram Pandey
विक्रम पाण्डे
Colour photo headshot of Bikram Pandey wearing a blue suit with a white shirt and blue tie
Bikram Pandey
14th Minister of Urban Development
In office
17 January 2023 – 25 February 2023
PresidentBidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime MinisterPushpa Kamal Dahal
Preceded byMetmani Chaudhary
Succeeded bySita Gurung
Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation
In office
11 September 2017[1] – 15 February 2018
Prime MinisterSher Bahadur Deuba
Preceded bySher Bahadur Deuba
as Prime Minister of Nepal
Succeeded byShakti Bahadur Basnet
Minister of Land Reform and Management
In office
11 August 2016[2] – 8 May 2017
PresidentBidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime MinisterKP Sharma Oli
Preceded byRam Kumar Subba
Succeeded byGopal Dahit
Vice-president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party
Assumed office
5 December 2021
PresidentRajendra Lingden
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
Assumed office
22 December 2022
Preceded byPushpa Kamal Dahal
ConstituencyChitwan 3
Member of 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly
In office
21 January 2014 – 14 October 2017
Preceded byAmik Sherchan
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyChitwan 5
Personal details
Born (1953-04-24) 24 April 1953 (age 71)
Chitwan District, Nepal
NationalityNepali
Political partyRastriya Prajatantra Party
Other political
affiliations
RPP (D)
Alma materTribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

Pandey is the current Vice president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party elected from the 2021 general convention of Rastriya Prajatantra Party.[5]

Political life

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Pandey has served several terms as minister in different ministries.[6][7] Pandey was one among the three RPP leaders to win FPTP election to Constituent Assembly after 2013.[4]

In 2017 Nepalese General Election, Pandey was candidate from Chitwan 3 against former prime minister and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.[8] He had challenged Dahal to win the constituency on his own while this was keenly watched throughout the country.[9][10] Pandey, a candidate of RPP was supported by Nepali Congress.[11] Though Pandey was unsuccessful, he lost with a very less margin than expected.[12][13]

Pandey is the newly elected vice president of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party.[14]

Controversies

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Pandey is the chairman of Kalika Group which operates construction and power companies, among others.[15] In 2018, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority filed Rs 2 billion corruption case against Pandey over the faulty construction of the Sikta Irrigation Canal.[16] Pandey was later acquitted of all charges by the Special Court.[17]

Pandey's appointment as Minister for Urban Development in 2023 has also been criticized as a conflict of interest since he owns a construction company that bids for government tenders and is now in charge of a ministry that hands out those same tenders.[18]

Electoral history

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Chitwan 3 (constituency)
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 48,276
Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic) Bikram Pandey 38,935
CPN (Marxist–Leninist) Dambar Shrestha 1,587
Others 1,495
Invalid votes 3,520
Result Maoist Centre gain
Source: Election Commission

References

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  1. ^ "Newly appointed ministers sworn in". The Himalayan Times. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  2. ^ "PM assigns portfolios to RPP ministers". 11 August 2016.
  3. ^ Republica. "RPP splits; Pashupati Shamsher Rana forms RPP-Prajatantrik". My Republica. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  4. ^ a b "चितवनको चुनावः वाम र लोकतान्त्रिक गठवन्धनवीच यस्तो छ हिसाब". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  5. ^ "राप्रपाको पदाधिकारीमा को–को भए विजयी ? (सूचीसहित)". राप्रपाको पदाधिकारीमा को–को भए विजयी ? (सूचीसहित). Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  6. ^ Monica (2017-09-11). "Newly appointed ministers sworn in". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  7. ^ Keshav (2016-08-11). "PM assigns portfolios to RPP ministers". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  8. ^ "विक्रम पाण्डे भन्छन्, 'प्रचण्ड मेरा प्रतिस्पर्धी होइनन्'". विक्रम पाण्डे भन्छन्, 'प्रचण्ड मेरा प्रतिस्पर्धी होइनन्'. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  9. ^ "विक्रम पाण्डे भन्छन्- कांग्रेसको सबै भोट मैले पाउँछु". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  10. ^ "प्रचण्डलाई चितवनमा विक्रम पाण्डेको चुनौती". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  11. ^ रातोपाटी. "यस्तो छ प्रचण्ड र विक्रम पाण्डेका मतदाताको मुड". RatoPati (in Nepali). Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  12. ^ रातोपाटी. "विक्रम पाण्डेले कांग्रेसका तीन शीर्ष नेतासँग आशीर्वाद लिएर मतदान गरे". RatoPati (in Nepali). Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  13. ^ "चितवन ३ मा प्रचण्ड भन्दा विक्रम पाण्डे २१४ मतले अगाडि (अपडेट)". चितवन ३ मा प्रचण्ड भन्दा विक्रम पाण्डे २१४ मतले अगाडि (अपडेट). Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  14. ^ "Rajendra Lingden elected as president of Nepal's pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  15. ^ "Our Team - Kalika Power Company". kalikapower.com.np. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  16. ^ Sikta, Setopati :: Rs 2b corruption case against ex-minister Bikram Pandey over. "Rs 2b corruption case against ex-minister Bikram Pandey over Sikta". Rs 2b corruption case against ex-minister Bikram Pandey over Sikta. Retrieved 2023-01-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Court acquits all 21 accused of graft in Sikta project". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  18. ^ "नयाँ राजनीति, पुरानै बेथिति: सहरी विकासमा ठेकेदार र श्रममा म्यानपावर एजेन्ट". ekantipur.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 2023-01-18.