RAUTAHAT, Feb 23: Nepali Communist Party (NCP) Co-coordinator and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is busy meeting voters in his constituency in Rautahat.
He is a candidate for the House of Representatives election from Rautahat-1. Having spent around 55 years in politics, he has been working hard for the past month to win voters’ hearts and secure electoral victory.
In this constituency, former Prime Minister Nepal is expected to face tough competition from CPN-UML’s Ajay Gupta. Nepali Congress (NC)’ Anil Jha and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal’s Yogendra Yadav are also competing candidates here.
For the past few days, candidates of Rautahat-1 have not been able to sleep well. After the possibility of communal riots increased, candidates from all political parties have been concentrating their campaigns in Gaur.
Since a former Prime Minister is contesting, security arrangements have been tightened in the area. Not only that, all political parties have also appealed to maintain religious harmony.
Even in such a situation, although all competing candidates are trying to win voters through door-to-door campaigns and meetings, voters have not shown much enthusiasm. Even towards the final phase of the election campaign, candidates have not been able to significantly energize voters.
In recent days, leader Nepal has been spending full time in his constituency. He is trying to remind voters of the development works he carried out in the past.
Through his initiative and active involvement, hostel construction of Juddha Secondary School and bridge projects over Bagmati River and Lalbakaiya River at Tikuliya have been in the construction process for many years.
However, voters have been raising concerns that these projects have remained incomplete for a long time in Rautahat. As the election approaches, candidates are distributing promises to attract voters.
While old party leaders in Rautahat are not only giving promises but also carrying lists of past achievements to attract voters, Nepal himself is also reaching the public carrying those same agendas. “It is necessary to break the narrative that leaders and parties have done nothing,” Nepal said while meeting voters in the election area.
The Process of Political Polarization in Nepal
Roads and electricity, along with education and health slogans, have become old campaign themes. When local governments have built paved roads everywhere and provincial and federal governments have invested enough in roads and electricity, candidates are bringing some new promises to voters.
Compared to the past, new voters have increased in Rautahat. While old political parties are giving traditional promises, new voters are searching for new dreams.
In Rautahat-1, Nepal is claiming that he built bridges and has already decided to acquire land for rice mills, and he is saying that development and construction plans will be moved forward according to people’s wishes.
Leader Nepal is not making any strong commitment to specific projects but is saying that he will build development projects based on public demand, just like in the past. Other candidates are giving promises related to road, electricity, education, and health infrastructure.
In Rautahat-1, some people are predicting that votes may also go in favor of NC candidate Jha. NC’ organizational structure is relatively strong in this area.
Nepal was able to win the 2022 election by receiving NC votes. In this area, the voting direction of Maithili Brahmin (Bahun) community voters will likely be decided towards the final phase.
Local intellectuals say that if the votes of Brahmin, Kayastha, Bhumihar, and Rajput communities split, it will become difficult for Jha to win. At the same time, due to the influence of Chief Minister Krishna Prasad Yadav of NC, it is still unclear what the voters’ attitude will be toward Anil Jha.
Political leaders are still confused about the recent situation inside NC. The confusion within NC is expected to benefit leader Nepal.
After Anil Jha suddenly joined the party and received the ticket, NC ticket aspirant Rajeshwar Yadav has now shifted toward Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which may also create problems for Jha.
This time, Nepal’s competitors include CPN-UML candidate Ajay Kumar Gupta, NC candidate Anil Kumar Jha, JSP’s candidate Yogendra Yadav, RSP candidate Rajesh Chaudhary, and others.
Ajay Kumar Gupta is Nepal’s old competitor. Similarly, both new and old candidates are now challenges for Nepal. Currently, Nepal is strategically convincing voters by reminding them of his past development works.
According to political observers, although caste influence exists in Rautahat-1, voter choice is largely influenced by evaluation of individual candidates’ work and performance.
Although Nepal has taken positive steps in development work in his constituency, voters complain that development has not happened as much as expected.
Although Nepal claims he has worked on flood control, education, health, roads, bridges, and improvement of Gaur–Rautahat connecting roads, some projects that were even inaugurated during his tenure as Prime Minister remain incomplete. One example is the Badahurwa bridge, which is still unfinished.
During construction of this bridge, work was stopped after Bagmati River changed its course.
Rautahat remains behind Madhesh Province in terms of human development index and literacy rate. The poverty rate is still only 32.33 percent.
Rautahat is located along the Nepal–India border. Rautahat-1 includes Rajdevi Municipality, Gaur Municipality, Madhav Narayan Municipality, Yamunamai Rural Municipality, Durga Bhagwati Rural Municipality, wards 1 of Garuda Municipality, and wards 6–8 of Gadhimai Municipality.
In Rautahat-2, old competitors and their promises dominate the election narrative. Here, the main competition is between NC and NCP candidates, and since both candidates are well known to voters, they are not making strong commitments.
Candidates in this area include NC’ Mohammad Firdos Alam, UML’s Mohammad Atiullah, NCP’s Kiran Kumar Sah, RSP’s Sesh Sagir, and JSP’s Ramashish Raya Yadav.
In Rautahat-3, NCP candidate Punam Yadav has promised to start construction of a medical college and cancer hospital after being elected.
Local voters believe she has strong political access and trust that she will fulfill her promises if elected. NC’ Ramkripal Yadav, UML’s Kundan Kushwaha, and RSP’s Dhiraj Patel are also giving development and good governance promises.
Four-time elected Prabhu Sah is also competing with new and old candidates. Aam Janata Party leader Sah is campaigning across different parts of the country to support his party.
Similarly, in Rautahat-4, journalist-turned-candidate Rishi Dhamala from Aam Janata Party has also promised to open a medical college in Chandrapur after being elected.
He has also promised to work day and night to improve education and health sectors and reduce poverty in Rautahat. He also promised to implement the development model seen in Maulapur across the constituency.
Although he is a new candidate, he is focusing on old issues. In this area, CPN-UML candidate Ramji Sah has promised to restart the sugar mill in Garuda which has been closed for half a decade and create employment opportunities.
NC candidate Deb Prasad Timalsina, NCP candidate Ram Kumar Bhattarai, and RSP candidate Ganesh Paudel are also giving promises of development and good governance.
So far, candidates in Rautahat are mainly promising two medical colleges along with a cancer hospital to attract voters.
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