In Kanchanpur-4, a constituency that has been vacant since Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba resigned, senior leaders of all the major parties have engaged in electioneering for their party candidates. Deuba is already here, along with his spouse Dr Arju Rana Deuba, to campaign on behalf of his party’s candidate Yagya Raj Joshi. CPN-UML leader KP Oli, who is regarded as a vocal critic of the Maoists, has left the district, but UML vice-chairperson Bidya Bhandari is still here. The UML has fielded Nuru Pal, a young woman activist of the party. And politburo members of the Unified Communist Party Nepal (Maoist) are in Kanchanpur to campaign for Maoist candidate Harish Thakulla.
The Maoists have focused on door-to-door campaigns instead of holding big rallies. From the commanders of the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army to those of the Youth Communist League, all are visiting the doors of the common people, soliciting votes.
Nepali Congress and CPN-UML leaders are banking on the issue of building a University in the Far-West as their main agenda, while the Maoists are pledging land to landless squatters and emancipated Kamaiyas.
It’s clear out here that there is stiff competition among the NC, UCPN (M) and CPN-UML in Kanchanpur-4 constituency, a constituency won by NC Leader Deuba in last year’s polls. The Maoists have fielded the same candidate who was defeated by Deuba by a margin of 1,100 votes last year. The NC and UML have fielded new faces for the polls.
A heated campaign is also going on in the southern town of Janakpur and its surroundings. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav’s constituency, Dhanusha-5, is one of the main areas of focus for the April 10 by-elections. Yadav’s son, Dr Chandra Mohan, is vying for the seat that his father vacated, while the two largest communist parties and the two major Madhesi parties seem hell-bent on winning this constituency, an epicenter of the Madhes movement.
The Maoists’ district in-charge, Mahadev Yadav, the UML’s Central Committee member Raghu Bir Mahaseth and the Central Treasurer of the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Srikrishna Yadav, are in the fray for the Dhanusha-5 seat. The Madhesi People’s Rights Forum has fielded Siya Ram Yadav, an influential leader from neighboring Sarlahi district. The most competitive races are expected to take place among NC, TMDP and UML candidates.
The main opposition leader, Girija Prasad Koirala, of the NC, Maoist leader CP Gajurel, Land Reforms and Management Minister Mahendra Paswan and UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel have already addressed crowds at election rallies here. MPRF Chairman and Foreign Affairs Minister Upendra Yadav, senior UML leader KP Oli and TMDP leader Mahantha Thakur have also attended campaigns in Janakpur.
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