CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate Kamala Roka has been elected a federal parliament member from East Rukum.

Roka, a left alliance candidate, mustered 10,434 votes while her closest rival Hari Shankar Gharti of the Nepali Congress got 4,406.

Roka had five other male candidates as her competitors in Constituency-1. “Women have more struggle to achieve anything due to the existing patriarchal belief. I was able to win the election due to people’s support,” Roka said after her victory.

Among 27,928 listed voters, 18,114 had exercised their franchise. The margin was 6,028 while 1,208 votes were declared invalid.

Roka said she had joined the Maoist “people’s war” as a tenth grader. She completed her Plus Two education only after the peace process began in 2006. She later became the sports minister. Currently a secretariat member of the Maoist Centre, Roka is also in charge of the party’s women department.

“I have got an opportunity to work for the people in the newly created district. There are also challenges and possibilities,” said Roka, promising to work for the development of the district headquarters Rukumkot and other hill areas. Education, health, electricity and tourism would be the key components of her integrated plan to develop the district.