Candidates turn to politicians for leverage

KATHMANDU, April 4: The contest for the top post at the apex business body has taken a nasty turn after contenders started to approach leaders from different political parties to garner the support of politically-affiliated businessmen -- something which was never witnessed in the past.



Worse still, even apolitical businessmen, particularly those from districts outside the capital, said they have started getting calls from political leaders, asking them whom they are voting for in the upcoming election.[break]



“Generous expenditure of money by contenders was always there. But for the first time we are witnessing blatant interference from political leaders as well,” said one veteran businessmen.



Unfortunately for the apolitical statute and autonomy of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), such interference is happening because of the businessmen themselves, he told Republica.



As the date of the election nears, election fever has gripped the business community, dividing it and creating almost a vertical split in the non-political institution. FNCCI is holding its 45th general body meeting on April 11 and 12, which will be followed by the election of a new executive committee.



Suraj Vaidya, current senior vice-president of FNCCI based in Kathmandu, and Azad Shrestha, central member based in Pokhara, have announced their candidacies for the top post at the apex business body. Unlike in the past, they have also approached the election with declared panels.



For his panel, Vaidya has presented Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar as candidate for the post of senior vice-president, Bhawani Rana as candidate for vice-president from district chambers, Kiran Saakha as vice-president from commodity associations and Pashupati Murarka as vice-president from associate members.



Shrestha for his part has announced Krishna Prasad Tamrakar as his candidate for senior vice-president, Pradeep Jung Pandey as commodity vice-president, Nirak KC as district chambers vice-president and Pradeep Man Vaidya as associates vice-president.



Both panels have personalities with a long history of service at FNCCI. Entrepreneurs closely watching developments said it was difficult to predict who will prevail in the poll.



“We are set for the toughest election since the Padma Jyoti-Binod Chaudhary contest. Only a thin margin will decide the win,” they said.



Former presidents of FNCCI, meanwhile, commented that the decision of the two presidential candidates to approach the election with panels has split the business community. “This will only weaken the apex business body and do no good for the private sector as a whole,” said a source.



Given their concern, a council of former FNCCI presidents a few days ago approached both Vadiya and Shrestha to categorically justify their claims to the post and even urged them to explore the possibility of announcing an unanimous candidate.



During the meeting, both candidates stated their claims forcefully. They are, nonetheless, committed to holding discussions with ´well-wishers´ and panel members on coming up with a unanimous candidacy and informing the council of their decisions in two or three days.



However, even the members of the council doubt that the candidates will manage to reach such an understanding.



“The split has gone too far. Even if Vaidya and Shrestha make sincere efforts, their close aides and panels will not allow them to succeed,” said the source. Besides, the election date is too close for the council´s efforts to succeed, he observed.

Related story

ICC T20 World Cup: England set Nepal a challenging 185-run targ...