The votes of ex-British Gurkha servicemen and their families were decisive in the past elections. No more.

As the ex-Gurkhas have started settling down in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong with their families, their absence during the polls is becoming more visible.

In the recently held local level elections, more than 30,000 Gurkhas did not cast their vote. Among the 79,290 listed voters, only 49,160 voted during the local elections in the Dharan sub-metropolis. According to estimates, 85 percent of voters who did not appear last polls are from the ex-Gurkha community.

In the past, the votes of Gurkhas were decisive in Dharan, the city of British Lahures. “Even the relatives of Gurkhas do not live in Dharan anymore,” said ex-Gurkha Ramesh Kumar Limbu, adding that candidates would even get financial support from the community. “These days, British Gurkhas do not invest money even for the development of Dharan.”

The settlement of ex-Gurkhas stretches from Dharan-7 to 18. Former mayor Manoj Menyangbo said a majority of the Gurkhas do not live in Dharan these days.

Among the four constituencies in Sunsari district, the ex-Gurkhas live mainly in one constituency with 122,691 listed voters.