Rukum East, March 6 -- Early vote counting in Rukum East shows Nepali Communist Party (NCP) candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal taking the lead.

In the initial tally, Dahal has received 1,415 votes. CPN-UML candidate Lilamani Gautam follows with 431 votes, while Nepali Congress candidate Kusum Devi Thapa has secured 417 votes.

Rastriya Swatantra Party's candidate Lakhan Kumar Thapa is in fourth place with 176 votes. Counting is ongoing in the constituency.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from EKantipur.com....