As it was in the primary round, Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa won by a landslide in both the constituencies of Dagana. 

In Lhamoidzingkha-Tashiding constituency, DNT’s Hemanth Gurung won 6,257 votes, of which 1,924 were postal ballot votes. His opponent DPT’s Prem Kumar Khatiwara secured 1,780 Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes and 808 postal votes.

In Drukjyegang-Tseza constituency, DNT’s Jurmi Wangchuk secured 6,087 votes, of which 3,978 were on EVM. DPT’s Migma Dorji managed to secure 2,939 total votes. He also secured 962 postal ballot votes, 1,147 less than Jurmi Wangchuk.

A total of 17,871 voters turned up to vote yesterday. In terms of percentage at least 76 percent of the voters voted, an increase of almost 20 percent from the primary round. Dagana has 24,570 registered voters in its 46 polling stations. 

DNT’s Lhamoidzingkha-Tashiding candidate Hemanth Gurung said he was confident to win and the primary election result gave him stronger reasons to expect the result in his favor. “I have been in touch with my constituents for over a decade. That’s what gave me this victory,” he said. 

Jurmi Wangchuk also said that he is not surprised with the results because DNTs victory in Dagana was certain. “I’m happy I won,” he said. 

He added that it was the party’s manifesto, pledges and the leadership that people looked up to. It was also his experience and qualification that mattered to voters.   “People wanted change and DNT is their change,” he said. 

Nirmala Pokhrel | Tsirang