Nepal, Feb. 26 -- "Hajur, I am Balen's soldier."

That is the line Rajunath Pandey repeats as he moves from door to door in Kathmandu Constituency-3. A former chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) municipal police during the tenure of former Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen), Pandey is anchoring his political identity in his close association with the outspoken mayor.

After Balen joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) as a senior leader and filed his candidacy from Jhapa-5 for the House of Representatives (HoR) election scheduled for March 5, Pandey followed suit - entering the fray from Kathmandu-3 under the same banner.

But the contest is far from straightforward.

While Pandey presents himself as a fresh face riding the "Balen ...