Top leaders of the major political parties participated in the first round of local level elections on Sunday. Like millions of voters, they reached the polling centers and voted for their preferred candidates.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who voted at around 7 am became the first one to cast his vote from the polling station at Laxmi Secondary School, Bharatpur Municipality, Ward - 4.
PM Dahal said he was hopeful that the elections would take place in a peaceful manner in all the 281 local units of 34 districts in provinces 3, 4 and 6. According to him, participation of the people in the elections is more important than winning and losing of candidates. Asked about his preferred candidate, PM Dahal said he voted as per the spirit of the electoral alliance. “I voted in accordance with our electoral alliance,” said PM Dahal.
In Chitwan, PM Dahal's party, CPN (Maoist Center), Nepali Congress and Rastriya Prajatantra Party have forged an electoral alliance to defeat the CPN-UML candidate. The Maoist party has fielded Renu Dahal, daughter of PM Dahl as the mayoral candidate while UML has fielded Devi Gyawali for the same post in Bharatpur Municipality.
CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli went to Mahendra Shanti Secondary School of Balkot, Bhaktapur, to exercise his voting right. The opposition leader Oli, who was elected a lawmaker from Jhapa in 2013's Constituent Assembly elections, is a registered voter of Surya Binayak Municipallity, Bhaktapur.
Likewise, Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel reached to Satyabati polling station of Tanahu at around 7 am along with his family members to cast his vote. NC leader and former Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka went to Surkhet for voting. President of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Narayan Man Bijukchhe took part in the elections at Bhaktapur.
President of Rastriya Prjatantra Party (RPP) Kamal Thapa reached Baljyoti Secondary School, Piple in Hetauda to cast his vote. Likewise, NC leader Prakashman Singh cast his vote at the polling center set up at Nepal Yuwak High School, Paknajol in Kathmandu.
Naya Shakti Party Nepal (NSPN) coordinator and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai also cast his vote in his home district Gorkha. Health Minister Gagan Thapa reached a polling station of Maitidevi, Kathmandu to vote for the candidate of his choice.
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, who is currently in Sri Lanka had announced not to cast her vote in the elections for what she said to maintain the neutrality of her position. However, she urged all to make the local elections a success through a message. She even appealed to the locals for their active participation in the elections.
(With inputs from our district reporters)
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