At an function held in Duhabi, MPRF-Democratic Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar welcomed Thapa. Later, while talking to Republica, Thapa claimed that more than 300 NC cadres joined MPRF-Democratic along with him. [break]
There was a sense of déjà vu among the voters of Sunsari-3 when Thapa defected from the NC and joined MPRF-Democratic.
About 15 years ago, ahead of the 1999 general election, Thapa, just like now, had defected from Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) to join the NC. "Back then, our entry into the NC bolstered Gachchhadar´s election campaign," recalls Thapa. "In 1999, Gachchhadar, then contesting from NC, won the poll by a wide margin thanks to our support. Now also, we will help him win by a wide margin."
Thapa´s defections from RPP in 1999 and from the NC in 2013 only to join Gachchhadar´s party shed some light on the latter´s strategy for winning one general election after another, without losing even once. Gachchhadar is among very few political leaders who have won successive elections from the same constituency since the first people´s movement in 1990, regardless of which party he is in.
In CA election-2008, Gachchhadar, contesting from the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF)-Nepal, from which MPRF-Democratic was yet to break away, secured resounding victory, gaining a total of 23,769 votes. His close contestant, NC´s Agam Lal Chaudhary, received 10,806 votes. Prior to the CA election then, much of the area that now lies in Sunsari-3 was part of constituency-2 in the same district, and Gachchhdar had won comfortably from there in all three general elections - in 1992, 1994 and 1999.
So, how has Gachchhadar won in all general elections from Sunsari-3 since 1990? And, how does he plan to win in CA Election-2013? Why is he confident that he will win the fresh CA poll too, without having initiated big development projects in his constituency?
The locals say Gachchhadar, unlike other candidates, hardly visits the villages in his constituency. Let alone conducting door-to-door campaigning, he does not even manage time to address public gatherings once in every village.
"He is the boss of a national party, not just an ordinary candidate," says Thapa. "Since he has to visit all the constituencies where the MPRF-Democratic is contesting, Gachchhadar cannot manage time to interact with people in his constituency. But that does not affect his prospects of winning in the election. He will definitely win."
Although Thapa may sound odd to outsiders, those who have observed Gachchhadar´s election strategy for years do not find it unbelievable. They say Gachchhadar is like a tiger who usually roars just a week ahead of an election.
By now, CPN-UML´s Bhagawati Chaudhary, deemed a close contestant against Gachchhadar, has visited all VDCs in Sunsari-3. She has visited some villages more than twice. "Looking at Chaudhary´s election campaign, people may think she might defeat Gachchhadar this time," says Bishnu Dahal, a local teacher. "But, Gachchhadar is Gachchhadar. He might reverse the scenario overnight."
On Friday, when Gachchhadar addressed a gathering in Sonapur of Sunsari, more cadres of the NC and RPP-Nepal joined his party.
"People think Gachchhadar has won us over with money," says Mohammad Nisrul, who defected from the NC to join MPRF-Democratic along with Thapa. "But, it is not true. We believe only Gachchhadar can raise the voice of oppressed communities like Muslims, Dalits, Tharus and Madhesis."
Much like Thapa but way before him, Nisrul joined the NC ahead of the 1994 general election, after defecting from RPP to help Gachchhadar defeat his closest contestant, CPN-UML´s Kuldip Peskar, by a huge margin of 11,255 votes. Gachchadar is using the same old trick now to defeat CPN-UML´s Chaudhary. She is popular in Sunsari-3 largely thanks to her NGO that provides loans to small farmers. The other candidates are in no way going to be able to defeat Gachchhadar in Sunsari-3.
Munna Lal Chaudhari, 57, a Duhabi village committee member of the NC, was a crucial aide in Gachchhadar´s election campaigns until the 1999 election. Chaudhari knows exactly what Gachchhadar does to win elections. "Gachchhadar mobilizes his cadres intensively in all villages and gives them enough money to do what it takes to woo voters," he says. "His cadres organize feasts in every village. Dozens of pigs, goats and buffaloes are slaughtered to feed the locals, most of them are poor and uneducated."
According to a local resident of Simariya VDC in Sunsari, who spoke to Republica on condition of anonymity, Gachchadar does not directly distribute money to each and every voter. But, he provides money to build or renovate temples, mosques and schools and win hearts. "This year also, he is providing money to renovate a temple in our village," he said. "He might be providing money in other villages as well."
Gachchhadar, deemed by many as a ´messiah´ of the local Tharu people, might fear that his closest rival, Bhagwati Chaudhari, will win the support of a section of the local Tharus. Wary of divisions among the Tharu community, Gachchhadar is now wooing voters in the Muslim and Hill-Brahmin communities. Most of the NC and RPP cadres who joined Gachchhadar´s party on Friday were Muslim or Hill-Brahmin.
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