PALPA, Nov 14: The entire Palpa district was heated up with the fever of local elections but unfortunately there is no such excitement in the locals for the upcoming parliamentary and provincial polls.
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While candidates are busy with their meetings, the kind of excitement associated with elections is clearly missing in the rural parts. Dinesh Bhattarai, a local of Rambha Rural Municipality-1 says the enthusiasm seen in locals during the local elections is missing for the federal and provincial polls scheduled for December 10. There is not much time left for the elections, but the candidates are yet to enter the villages. Unlike in the previous elections, no banners, T-shirts, flags and pamphlets are seen in the villages this time.
This has made the voters confused as to which candidate to pick. Some are even not aware of their province and constituency. They are also not sure about the voting process either. The only way they have been getting some information is on social media sites. Major political parties are busy forming strategies and agendas to beat their rivals but small parties have prioritized door-to-door visits.
Thaman Saru, information officer at the District Election Office (DEO) informed Republica that 226 election officers will be deployed in the district to conduct voter education. They have already received their training and will soon head to their respective polling stations to educate the voters. Neither the candidates have approached the voters nor have the election officials reached there. This to a great extent has dampened the excitement for polls.
Local media like radio, television and newspapers are widely disseminating election-related information. According to Bishnu Prasad Khanal, a local businessman of Tansen, earlier parties were found conducting election activities by breaching election law but this time parties have not even made the necessary preparations. "No one is concerned about the development of the village or the locals. So, we don't care who wins. If they want our votes, they will come to us," said Tilak Ram Thapa of Tahun.
