Kathmandu, March 7 -- 'Congress changed, now we will change the country'-armed with this slogan, senior Nepali Congress leaders Pradip Paudel and Gururaj Ghimire launched their election campaigns. Yet, despite their high-profile bids as general secretaries, both suffered decisive defeats.

Ghimire, a former president of the Nepal Students' Union, lost in Morang-4 to Santosh Rajbanshi of the Rastriya Swatantra Party by a margin of 28,015 votes. Rajbanshi secured 40,833 votes, while Ghimire managed 12,818.

Paudel, a former health minister and resident of Tanahun, was defeated in Kathmandu-5 by RSP's Sasmit Pokharel by 29,578 votes. Pokharel received 30,737 votes, while Paudel garnered 9,159. Paudel was previously elected from the same cons...