The Maoists in Nepal, spearheaded by Prachanda, have surged ahead in the landmark constituent assembly polls, winning 14 seats and leading in 65 of the remaining 240 constituencies. Prachanda, 53, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist who led a decade-long insurgency in the country to overthrow the monarchy, defeated his closest rival Rajendra Kumar K C of the Nepali Congress in Kathmandu.
