This profile has been updated with verified 2025–2026 facts. Harka Sampang Rai resigned as Mayor of Dharan on 19 January 2026, won the Sunsari-1 parliamentary seat on 5 March 2026 with 35,741 votes, and assumed office as Member of Parliament on 26 March 2026 under his Shram Sanskriti Party.
| Full name | Harkaraj Sampang Rai |
| Born | 27 February 1983, Khartamchha, Khotang |
| Current role | Member of Parliament, Sunsari-1 (since 26 Mar 2026) |
| Party | Shram Sanskriti Party (founded 2 Nov 2025) |
| Former role | 6th Mayor of Dharan (23 May 2022 – 19 Jan 2026) |
| Education | BA in English & Political Science, Mahendra Campus; MA in English & MA in Political Science, Tribhuvan University |
| Spouse | Nirmala Limbu |
| Father | Til Bikram Rai (former British Gurkha soldier) |
| Known for | Shramdaan movement, Kokaha water project |
Harka Sampang Rai arrived in Dharan from the hills of Khotang with an SLC certificate and very little else. By May 2022, he was the city's mayor — the first independent candidate ever to hold that office — having beaten every major party candidate on a campaign that cost less than Rs 150,000 and featured a single man walking alone with a stick. By March 2026, he was a Member of Parliament with 35,741 votes behind him and his own political party registered with the Election Commission. That arc, from 422 votes in 2017 to a parliamentary mandate in 2026, is a story about what happens when trust is built not with manifestos but with pipe laid by hand.
Early Life and the Road to Dharan
Harka Sampang Rai was born on 27 February 1983 in Khartamchha, a village in what is now Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality, Khotang District. His father, Til Bikram Rai, served as a British Gurkha soldier — a background that planted in him, early on, a respect for discipline and public duty. His mother, Jasamaya Rai, raised the family in the modest circumstances common to eastern Nepal's mid-hills. He has a sister, Rukmini Rai.
After completing his School Leaving Certificate in Khotang, Rai moved to Dharan in the late 1990s. At Mahendra Multiple Campus he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science, then went on to complete Master of Arts degrees in both subjects at Tribhuvan University. He began his working life as a tutor, teaching English and computer skills to local students. That interlude of teaching — of explaining complex ideas plainly — is arguably where his later skill as a communicator was sharpened.
Between his graduation and his return to full-time civic life, Rai spent roughly six years working abroad — in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Gulf — as part of the same migrant worker tide that has carried hundreds of thousands of young Nepalis away from home. He returned to Dharan with a changed perspective, drove auto-rickshaws, worked in agriculture, and founded the National Unity Network, through which he began protesting against illegal sand extraction from the Sardu river, corruption in local governance, and the rights of residents displaced by highway expansion. Dharan was where he chose to fight, and it was Dharan that eventually chose him back.
From 422 Votes to Parliament — A Career Timeline
The Kokaha River Water Project
Nothing defined Harka Sampang's time as mayor more than the Kokaha River Water Project — and nothing better illustrates the gap between his approach and that of conventional politicians. Dharan had lived with a chronic drinking water shortage for decades. A $22 million Asian Development Bank project, agreed in 2012, had produced a groundwater system that pumped water from over 100 metres underground through deep tube wells. The infrastructure was built by a joint venture contractor, Tianjin Tundi JV, but the system proved expensive to run and shed up to 80 percent of its supply in the dry season when the monsoon-fed Sardu and Khardu sources dried up. A new contract-driven solution would have taken years.
Sampang did not wait. He mobilized Dharan's own residents. Every Saturday, thousands of volunteers — students, shopkeepers, retired workers, and even former critics — showed up to dig trenches, lay pipes, and weld joints across 42 kilometres of terrain from the Kokaha stream to Dharan-20. He was there alongside them, photographed carrying pipes and sleeping at the site. The project was completed in 98 days using public donations from locals and the Dharan diaspora abroad. Water flowed from a new source for the first time.
Sampang had already done this on a smaller scale before Kokaha, mobilizing volunteers to bring water from the Pakuwa, Sardu, and Nishane streams. But the Kokaha project was the one the world noticed. In July 2023, the World Book of Records–London presented Mayor Sampang with a Certificate of Recognition at a ceremony in Dharan Sub-metropolitan City's assembly hall, citing his "contribution in espousing social causes and promoting volunteerism culture." He received the honour and announced he would plant 10 million trees to mark the occasion.
Kokaha Pipeline
Volunteer-built water supply from Kokaha stream
42 km · 98 daysWorld Record
World Book of Records–London recognition, July 2023
Largest volunteer water project10 Million Trees
Afforestation drives along riverbanks and public areas
Bamboo · Neem · SissooMaya Dharane
Turmeric factory, Dharan-20, inaugurated July 11, 2025
Rs 3.1M · 5 workersRefusing the ADB Loan
The same principled independence that built the Kokaha pipeline resurfaced in 2025 when a new long-term water project entered planning. The government had allocated Rs 40 million in fiscal year 2025/26 for the initial phase of a project to bring water from the Saptakoshi River to Dharan, with the expectation that most of the financing would be sourced through an ADB loan. Mayor Sampang wrote formally to the Ministry of Water Supply, urging that the project be funded from national revenue rather than foreign debt.
The letter drew national attention and polarized opinion. Critics called the position impractical, arguing that a project of the Saptakoshi's scale could not realistically be financed from Nepal's national budget alone. Supporters saw it as entirely consistent with his Shramdaan philosophy — the same insistence that Dharan should solve its own problems with its own resources, not with borrowed money. Whatever one thinks of the economics, the decision showed that the Sampang approach had a coherent underlying worldview.
Maya Dharane: Building Dharan's Industries
Water was the most urgent crisis, but Sampang's economic vision for Dharan extended to local industry. On 11 July 2025, he inaugurated the Maya Dharane turmeric powder factory at Dharan-20. The sub-metropolitan city invested approximately Rs 3.1 million in the facility, built on land donated to the municipality. The factory sources raw turmeric from farmers in the Bishnupaduka pocket zone, processes it, and sells it under the Maya Dharane brand, directly employing five people at launch and providing a stable market for local growers. A planned soap factory and plastic processing plant were also in development, though delayed by a dispute with the Forest Office over proposed land.
Founding the Shram Sanskriti Party
Harka Sampang built a social media presence that most Nepali politicians could only envy — over 1.4 million followers on his Facebook page, "Harka Sampang A Revolution." That platform gave him reach far beyond Dharan's ward boundaries. In April 2025, he announced the launch of a nationwide organisation, "Harka Sampang: A Revolution Team," and invited supporters to join. By then he had already been preparing a more formal structure.
On 2 November 2025, the Shram Sanskriti Party — translatable as the Labour Culture Party — was officially registered with the Election Commission of Nepal, with Harka Sampang Rai as its first and founding chairman. The party's name is a deliberate philosophical statement: governance built on the ethic of voluntary community labour rather than on party patronage, bureaucratic process, or foreign financing.
The 2026 Election: Sunsari-1 and a New Chapter
On 19 January 2026, Harka Sampang resigned as Mayor of Dharan, with deputy mayor Aindra Bikram Begha assuming the acting role. The following day he filed his candidacy from the Sunsari-1 constituency — which encompasses all 20 wards of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, plus wards 1–5 of Barahachhetra Municipality and wards 6–7 of Ramdhuni Municipality — under the Shram Sanskriti Party banner.
The 5 March 2026 election produced a clear mandate. Harka Sampang won Sunsari-1 with 35,741 votes. Goma Tamang of the Rastriya Swatantra Party came second with 27,249 votes. Tikaram Limbu of CPN-UML received 6,463 votes. Nationally, the Shram Sanskriti Party also took Khotang, where Aaren Rai won with 16,612 votes — giving the party two first-past-the-post seats in its debut election. Harka Sampang was sworn in as Member of Parliament on 26 March 2026, succeeding Ashok Rai from the Sunsari-1 seat.
Harka Sampang's political career has attracted scrutiny alongside its achievements. In October 2023, while visiting the United Kingdom, he delegated the acting mayor's responsibilities to Lokendra Fago — his uncle-in-law and ward chair of Dharan-11 — rather than to deputy mayor Aindra Bikram Begha, drawing accusations of nepotism and procedural disregard for the elected hierarchy.
He has also faced recurring allegations from opposition politicians of stoking ethnic and religious nationalism, though he publicly maintains that he considers all religions equal. The Shramdaan model itself has critics: some water policy experts and governance analysts argue that volunteer labour cannot substitute for professionally managed, adequately funded public services, and that popular leaders can use it to deflect accountability for long-term planning failures.
His refusal of the ADB loan for the Saptakoshi water project drew pointed questions about whether national revenue financing is realistic at the infrastructure scale Dharan actually needs. These debates are legitimate — and they are part of what makes the Sampang story genuinely complex rather than a simple triumph narrative.
What the Sampang Story Means for Eastern Nepal
Harka Sampang Rai's political arc is significant beyond the specifics of Dharan's water pipes or turmeric factories. He represents a strand of eastern Nepal's political identity — self-reliant, skeptical of Kathmandu-based party structures, and rooted in community labour traditions — that previously had no national parliamentary expression. The communities of eastern Nepal, including the Rai, Limbu, and broader Kirat peoples, have long contributed to Nepal's labour history and military service while receiving comparatively little from its governance structures. Sampang's visibility — with 1.4 million Facebook followers, a World Book of Records recognition, and now a parliamentary seat — is itself a form of representation.
The Shram Sanskriti Party's two-seat debut in 2026 is modest in parliamentary arithmetic terms, but it signals that the Shramdaan ethos has a constituency beyond Dharan. Whether Sampang can convert that grassroots credibility into durable legislative impact — and whether his philosophy of voluntary self-reliance translates into the necessarily institutional work of national lawmaking — is the story that eastern Nepal, and Nepal as a whole, will be watching unfold.
Who is Harka Sampang Rai?
Harka Sampang Rai (born 27 February 1983, Khartamchha, Khotang) is a Nepali politician, social activist, and the founder and chairman of the Shram Sanskriti Party (Labour Culture Party). He served as the 6th Mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City from 23 May 2022 to 19 January 2026 and is currently a Member of Parliament representing Sunsari-1, having assumed office on 26 March 2026.
Is Harka Sampang still the mayor of Dharan?
No. He resigned as Mayor of Dharan on 19 January 2026 to contest the House of Representatives election. His deputy, Aindra Bikram Begha, is currently serving as acting mayor. Sampang won the Sunsari-1 parliamentary seat on 5 March 2026 and was sworn in as Member of Parliament on 26 March 2026.
What is the Kokaha River Water Project?
The Kokaha River Water Project was Mayor Sampang's flagship initiative to address Dharan's chronic water shortage. He mobilized thousands of volunteers who worked every Saturday to lay a 42-kilometre pipeline from the Kokaha stream to Dharan. The project was completed in 98 days using voluntary community labour and public donations. In July 2023, the World Book of Records–London recognized it with a Certificate of Recognition.
What is the Shram Sanskriti Party?
The Shram Sanskriti Party (Labour Culture Party) is a Nepali political party founded by Harka Sampang Rai and officially registered with the Election Commission of Nepal on 2 November 2025, with Sampang as its first chairman. In the 2026 House of Representatives election, the party won two first-past-the-post seats: Sunsari-1 (Harka Sampang, 35,741 votes) and Khotang (Aaren Rai, 16,612 votes).
How many votes did Harka Sampang win in the 2026 parliamentary election?
Harka Sampang won the Sunsari-1 constituency on 5 March 2026 with 35,741 votes. His nearest rival, Goma Tamang of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, received 27,249 votes. Tikaram Limbu of CPN-UML received 6,463 votes.
Why did Harka Sampang refuse the ADB loan?
Mayor Sampang formally wrote to Nepal's Ministry of Water Supply opposing the use of an Asian Development Bank loan to finance Dharan's long-term Saptakoshi River water project, for which the government had allocated Rs 40 million in FY 2025/26. He argued that burdening Nepal with additional foreign debt was inappropriate, and that the project should be financed from national revenue. He pointed to the existing ADB-funded deep tube well system — a $22 million project agreed in 2012 — as proof that foreign-financed water infrastructure had proved costly and unreliable.
Where is Harka Sampang from?
He was born in Khartamchha, Khotang District (now part of Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality), eastern Nepal, and has lived and worked in Dharan, Sunsari District, since the late 1990s. He is of Rai ethnicity and is married to Nirmala Limbu. His father, Til Bikram Rai, served in the British Gurkha forces.
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