{{Short description|Nepalese politician (born 1983)}} {{Update|date=March 2026|This article needs updates related to 2026 Nepalese general election}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Harka Sampang | native_name = {{nobold|हर्क साम्पाङ}} | image = Harka Sampang (cropped).png | caption = Sampang in 2025 | office = Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha | term_start = 26 March 2026 | status = Incumbent | predecessor = Ashok Rai | constituency = Sunsari 1 | office1 = 1st Chairman of the Shram Sanskriti Party | term_start1 = 2 November 2025 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = ''Position established'' | successor1 = | office2 = 6th Mayor of Dharan | term_start2 = 23 May 2022 | term_end2 = 19 January 2026 | deputy2 = Aindra Bikram Begha | predecessor2 = Tilak Rai | successor2 = Aindra Bikram Begha (acting) | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|02|27|df=yes}} | birth_place = Khartamchha, Khotang, Nepal | alma_mater = Tribhuvan University (MA English)<br/>Tribhuvan University (MA Political Science) | party = Shram Sanskriti Party | spouse = Nirmala Limbu | children = 1 | father = Til Bikram Rai | mother = Jasamaya Rai | website = | nickname = | known_for = Starting Shramdaan movement in Nepal }} '''Harkaraj Rai Sampang{{efn|{{langx|ne|हर्कराज राई हर्क साम्पाङ}}}}''' (born 27 February 1983) is a Nepalese politician who is the founder, chairman, and parliamentary leader of the Shram Sanskriti Party. He is a member of parliament having been elected from Sunsari 1 constituency in the 2026 Nepalese general election. He previously served as the 6th mayor of Dharan from 2022 to 2026, the first independent candidate to be elected as mayor of Dharan.<ref name="kpost">{{cite web |title=Harka Sampang wins Sunsari-1 |url=https://kathmandupost.com/province-no-1/2026/03/08/harka-sampang-wins-sunsari-1 |publisher=The Kathmandu Post |website=Kathmandu Post |date=2026-03-08 |language=en |access-date=2026-04-16}}</ref><ref name="khoj">{{cite web |title=Harka Sampang Wins Sunsari-1 Election With 35,741 Votes, Defeats RSP’s Goma Tamang |url=https://khojsamachar.com/harka-sampang-wins-sunsari-1-election/ |publisher=Khoj Samachar |website=Khoj Samachar |author=Roshani Shrestha Pathak |date=2026-03-08 |language=en |access-date=2026-04-16}}</ref><ref name="setopati">{{cite web |title=Harka Sampang wins Sunsari-1 election |url=https://en.setopati.com/political/166049 |publisher=Setopati |website=Setopati English |date=2026-03-08 |language=en |access-date=2026-04-16}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Sampang was born in Khartamchha, Khotang which is in present-day Kepilasgadhi rural municipality. His father was a former British Gorkha soldier. He moved to Dharan in 1998 after completing his SLC examinations to pursue higher education.<ref>{{cite news |title=हर्क साम्पाङ् जसले धरानको तिर्खा मेट्ने लक्ष्य राखेका छन् |url=https://www.bbc.com/nepali/news-61576133 |website=BBC News नेपाली |language=ne}}</ref> He graduated in Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English and Political Science from Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan and started working as a tutor.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=हर्क साम्पाङ- अ रेभुलुसन |url=https://www.setopati.com/election/localelection/272021/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Setopati |language=en-US}}</ref> After completing his higher education he had gone to Iraq and Afghanistan for employment.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=धरान |first=रोहित राई |title=को हुन् धरानका 'वेटिङ मेयर' हर्कराज राई साम्पाङ? |url=https://nagariknews.nagariknetwork.com/NirwachanBishes/830641-1653122558.html |website=Nagarik News}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=धरानवासीले किन पत्याए हर्क साम्पाङलाई? |url=https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/130043 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Himal Khabar}}</ref>
== Political career == Rai contested the 2017 by-elections for the mayor of Dharan as an independent but only managed to get 422 votes.<ref name=":1" /> He again contested for the post of mayor at the 2022 elections still as an independent and was elected after getting a vote share of 39.8%.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2022/05/22/independent-candidate-harka-raj-rai-elected-mayor-of-dharan-sub-metropolitan-city|title=Independent candidate Harka Raj Rai elected mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City|website=The Kathmandu Post}}</ref> He was the first independent candidate elected as mayor of Dharan.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Kantipur">{{cite web |title=धरानका मेयरक�� घोषणा- मोटरसाइकल नै चढ्छु |url=https://www.nayapatrikadaily.com/news-details/87440/2022-05-26 |website=Naya Patrika |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=हर्क साम्पाङमाथि पहिले लाठीचार्ज, अहिले फूल र अबिरको वर्षा |url=https://ekantipur.com/pradesh-1/2022/05/25/165346185444663985.html |website=Kantipur (daily) |language=ne}}</ref>
== Activism == After six years working abroad he returned to Dharan and opened the National Unity Network to protest against corruption. He was also involved in protests against tax raises, illegal sand extraction from rivers and the water scarcity in Dharan.<ref name=":2" /> In 2016, Rai became the coordinator of people displaced by the expansion of the Madan Bhandari Inner Terai Highway.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> He built Shram Sanskriti Park to showcase the history of Dharan.
In 2025, Sampang founded the Shram Sanskriti Party (SSP).<ref name="Kantipur" /><ref>{{cite web |title=पानी अभियन्ता हर्कराज साम्पाङ राई बने धरानको मेयर, पाए २०८२१ मत |url=https://ekagaj.com/article/election-local/100907/ |website=ekagaj |access-date=2022-08-07 |archive-date=2022-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522114719/https://ekagaj.com/article/election-local/100907/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harka Sampang files for party registration |url=https://en.setopati.com/political/165332/ |access-date=2025-09-28 |website=Setopati}}</ref>
== Electoral history == === 2022 Dharan municipal election === {{Election box begin|title=Mayoral elections result}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Independent politician|candidate=Harka Raj Rai|votes=20,821|percentage=39.8%|change=+39.0%}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Nepali Congress|candidate=Kishore Rai|votes=16,051|percentage=30.7%|change=-19.0%}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)|candidate=Manju Bhandari Subedi|votes=12,825|percentage=24.5%|change=-20%}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Rastriya Prajatantra Party|candidate=Naresh Kumar Shakya|votes=1,488|percentage=2.8%|change=+2.5%}} {{Election box candidate|party=Others|candidate=|votes=1,142|percentage=2.2%|change=}} {{Election box total||votes=52,335|percentage=100.0%}} {{Election box rejected||votes=10,562|percentage=|change=}} {{Election box turnout||votes=62,897|percentage=|change=}} {{Election box registered electors| |reg. electors = 100,324 |change = }} {{Election box gain with party link|winner=Independent politician|loser=Nepali Congress|swing=+29.0%}} {{Election box end}}
== See also ==
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Harka Raj}} Category:Living people Category:People from Sunsari District Category:Mayors of places in Nepal Category:Nepalese activists Category:1983 births Category:People from Dharan Category:Nepal MPs 2026– Category:Shram Sanskriti Party politicians