LAHAN, September 7: Not many candidates get chance to get elected thrice to the reputed post of mayor. Lagan Lal Chaudhary of Lahan-1, who was twice appointed as mayor during the Panchayat regime, made it to the same post again during the multi-party democratic system post 1990. With a hope of claiming the same post once again, Chaudhary has filed for his candidacy in the upcoming third phase of elections too.
This time, he has filed his candidacy from Kamal Thapa-led Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). "There were some plans and projects which I left incomplete due to lack of tools, equipment and time," Chaudhary said. As informed by Chaudhary, earlier, the local authorities were not given with all the rights and authorities due to which they had to abandon various projects.
"This time I see a better prospect to be a people's representative as they have been given with the rights of the central government," he said.
Two former mayors competing for the same post yet again
Chaudhary was the one who built the foundation of higher education in Lahan. There are hundreds of youths in the district who are roaming jobless despite being educated. So, Chaudhary is determined to increase employment opportunities for those youths. Besides that, he wants to establish a fund for the poor and destitute who want to fly to foreign countries in search of jobs.
"I don't want to sell big dreams to the locals. Instead, I will be prioritizing minor projects which can contribute to a great deal in development," he claims.
There were 10 wards in Lahan municipality before the local level restructuring. But now they have now been increased to 14. Chaudhary says no magic can change these villages into cities overnight as it takes great efforts for transformation.
Similarly, Muni Sah of Lahan-5 who was elected as the mayor of the municipality from CPN-UML in 1997 will be competing for the same post yet again. "It breaks my heart when I see various projects being neglected and left incomplete by various authorities," he said.
He is planning to manage shelter for the destitute and scholarships for their children.
"In 1997, when I was elected to this post, the budget of the municipality was hardly Rs 3 million which I later increased to Rs 3.4 million," he claimed. During his tenure, he even claimed that he blacktopped the road of the city for the first time.
Chure conservation has also been his major agenda. As told by him, he wants to transform the city into a megacity by combining his experience with the availability of resources.
Apart from these two, there are some new faces who will be contesting for the mayoral post. However, these two have stolen the limelight as people are eagerly waiting to see who among the two is going to win the election.
