PANCHTHAR, Oct 26: As the parliamentary and provincial elections are inching closer, the election fever has equally gripped political leaders and locals of eastern hill district of Panchthar.
According to the locals, there will be a tough competition among the alliances forged between the left and the right parties. The much-talked-about alliance between CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) as well as the 'democratic' alliance of Nepali Congress has created quite a stir in the country. This is expected to bring interesting results in the parliamentary and provincial elections which will be conducted simultaneously on November 26 and December 7. On the other hand, the withdrawal of nomination by four candidates has not just added intrigue to the election but has also made it difficult for the people to speculate the possible winner.
Poll campaigning yet to pick up in Panchthar
As informed by the Chief Election Officer Manoj KC, two nominees for parliament and two for the provincial assembly have canceled their nominations. He further informed that there will be nine candidates for the parliamentary elections and altogether 16 candidates from both constituencies for the provincial elections. It has been learned that the candidates of various Madhes-based parties withdrew their names in order to support the candidates of NC as per the decision of the alliance.
This time, many heavyweight leaders are competing against one another in the district. People are keenly waiting for the elections to see the candidates of their choice win. As the competition is among popular and renowned leaders, people are finding it hard to guess who might win and who will lose. With the aim of attracting more number of voters, candidates have started making door-to-door visits.
While big political parties have fielded old faces, small parties have picked new faces to compete against them. Holding their political agendas, candidates have intensified their campaigns in their respective constituencies.