Dharmaraj Pokhrel, who had reached Khotang by helicopter to register his candidature for the post of mayor of Diktel Municipality from the Nepali Congress, has been denied the candidateship in the end.

Pokhrel, who had reached Khotang with a letter signed by Uddhav Thapa, president of Nepali Congress (NC) Province No. 1, was also beaten by Nepali Congress cadres. A video of Pokhrel being chased by disgruntled activists was also made public. After the dispute escalated, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba intervened and Tirtha Raj Bhattarai got a ticket from the Nepali Congress in Diktel Municipality.