Even the locals gather at tea shops, hotels and restaurants to talk about the elections. "My teashop has turned into a joint for people to assemble and talk about the upcoming elections. [break]
While some claim that the Nepali Congress would win, others say the UML and other parties have equally strong chance," said Jamuna Giri, 38, the teashop owner.
She further said most customers say that political parties have never fulfilled their promises.
"The forthcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) election scheduled for November 19 means nothing to me as I know that my everyday hardships will remain as it is even after the election."
"The constituency is in a sorry state as it is the most polluted part of Kathmandu," said Giri. She said that the candidates of different parties have promised her and others in her area that they would develop the infrastructures in the constituency. "But I am sure that there would be no any substantial change at the constituency even after the polls. It is us who need the development, not NC, UCPN (Maoist), UML and others," she added.
"There is poor security arrangement, no development and I regret being a part of Koteshwar," she complained. There are no public toilets in the constituency.
"We are merely a vote bank for these leaders. The leaders care about nobody but themselves. They have proved it time and again. I don´t feel like voting for anyone," said Alok Lamsal.
This constituency includes 9 VDCs and two wards of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. One of the features of this constituency is that it has developed places like Koteshwar and Gaushala, while it also consists of remote VDC like Nanglebare, which lies on the border with Sindhupalchowk district.
"The Nanglebare VDC is the most backward constituency. The candidates have floated ambitious plans for the village from the past, but they never live up to their promises," said Ramesh Shrestha, a vendor.
He further complained the government has neither ensured proper water supply nor electricity in their village. "Our village is the most backward part of this constituency as there are no proper roads," added Shrestha.
Sikshit Parajuli, 41, a social activist who lives in Koteshwar, also said constituency 2 of the district is the most backward. "The settlements next to both the Manohara and Bagamati Rivers are in sorry state. The banks are being encroached by squatters but the government hasn´t paid any attention. Though Kathmandu municipality and Manohara Unification Project took initiative to resolve the disputes regarding the settlements, nothing came of the initiative," said Parajuli.
Parajuli further said that the candidates from different parties have promised that their parties would take the lead to resolve the issues of squatters. "But I am not confident that they will forget about the issue."
Suchitra Baidya, a school teacher, said the condition of roads in her constituency is very poor. "The condition is so much deplorable that my shoes and sandals don´t last long," added Baidya. She further demanded that the government should construct an overhead bridge at Koteshwar crossing. "I find crossing the road very challenging."
There are 46 candidates, including 9 women, contesting from the constituency. Voters have said that there would be a tough poll battle between Nepali Congress (NC), UCPN (Maoist) and CPN (UML).
UML candidate Madhav Kumar Nepal had lost to Maoist candidate Jhakku Prasad Subedi in the previous election. "This time around, too, our party would win the race," said Manu Humagain, a UCPN (Maoist) leader. She further said that in the previous election "people voted for UCPN (Maoist) than Jhakku Prasad Subdedi, but this time around the voters would cast their vote for the senior leader of the party Lila Mani Pokharel."
Humagain acknowledged the people were disappointed with the party as it did not live up to its words, though she was quick to add that her party was still a favorite among people.
Refuting her claim, UML leaders have said that the constituency saw no developments because of the poor intention of the Maoists. "The first CA could not draft the constitution as Maoists were the main obstacle to it. Maoists are yet to be pro-peace force," claimed Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Nepal insisted that the voters regretted the wrong decision they made in the last election. "I have assured the people of my constituency that I will personally take initiatives to develop infrastructures of my constituency. There will be no more lack of water supply at Koteshwar. I also want to assure that our party would take initiatives to end power outage within a year," said Nepal during a door-to-door campaign at Koteshwar on Wednesday.
The NC candidate Gautam has termed other candidates as tourists. "They [candidates] approach the voters only during polls," she added. She further said that the candidates contesting from the constituency are tourists for her as they belong to other parts of the country. "They are not locals and once they win, they allocate budgets in their respective home districts, not to their constituency," blames Gautam.
When asked about the demands of voters, she was quick to add that hers was the only party serious about the development of Kathamndu.
"The voters demand well-managed roads, water supply, employment, electricity supply, among others," said Gautam.
She added that the voters are disappointed with the leaders as they don´t go back to their respective constituency after election. She then accused UCPN (Maoist) of failing to develop the constituency. Stating that her victory was certain, Gautam said, "I will get victory as I am a local candidate belonging to this very constituency. I am not like others who are tourists."
Upbeat about the November 19 CA poll, people at the constituency say they will vote for candidates who come up with a convincing roadmap for the timely promulgation of the constitution and development.
The voters say most of the leaders elected in the first CA polls failed to play a constructive role, both in constitution-making and developing their district.
In the previous election, Maoist candidate Jhakku Prasad Subedi secured 13,858 votes, UML candidate Madhav Kumar Nepal and NC candidate Deepak Prasad Kuinkel got 12,325 and 11,544 votes, respectively.
Similarly, while the UCPN (Maoist) secured 14,750 votes, UML and NC secured 11,477 and 10897 votes, respectively, under the Proportional Representation (PR).
The total number of voters registered from the constituency stands at 63,873.
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