Bista, who runs a small teashop and lives alone in the same hut, at Malam village near Dadeldhura district headquarters Amargadhi, is less interested to vote because like in the past every candidate, during election campaign, would promise to solve the villagers’ problems but will never return to their settlements once they win. [break]
He worked at the local office of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for 18 years until some years ago but now he has to carry out daily chores in dark inside the hut because every evening power supply is disrupted in this area. “I am certain that no candidate is going to solve this problem. No leader is going to ensure regular power supply in the evenings,” rued Bista.
People in the settlement are deprived of even basic facilities such as drinking water, health facilities and black-topped road even as the village falls in Amargadhi Municipality and just a few kilometers from the district headquarters.
The locals have been disillusioned by political parties as leaders even didn’t fulfill their basic demand to make an arrangement of drinking water facility. Around 300 households are in the village but they have only one common public tap.
“We have been raising this issue for years. Leaders come here during every election and they promise to solve our problems but their words are never translated into action,” said teacher Tej Bahadur Tamoli.
In every election, candidates from all parties come there for door-to-door campaign in the area because Malam is one of the largest villages that can be decisive in election results.
When it comes to the situation of infrastructural development, the status of Dadeldhura is considered best among the far-western hilly districts. The district is connected by a black-topped road to the East-West Highway. Most of the villages are connected through earthen roads and electricity supply.
However, people in the villages find no reason to relish over the development activities taking place in some of the parts of the district because of their plight in the far-flung areas.
“When one sees Dadeldhura in broader perspective one may find good development status of this district but people in villages are still compelled to live pathetic lives,” said Tamoli.
When the issue of an overall development situation in Dadeldhura is discussed, both the credit as well as blame largely goes to former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Ever since the restoration of democracy in 1990, Nepali Congress leader Deuba has remained at the helms of the district politics.
Immediately after he got elected from his home district Dadeldhura in 1991, Deuba became home minister. Since then, Deuba has been elected four times from the only constituency of the district and he became prime minister thrice so far.
BARUN PANERU
He has become a formidable obstacle to rival parties in the district for the last 22 years.
In the first Constituent Assembly (CA) polls in 2008, Deuba won election from two constituencies from two far-western districts – Dadeldhura and Kanchanpur—even as some key leaders and party chiefs from Nepali Congress and CPN-UML lost the election. Deuba is one of few leaders who have succeeded to win all elections held since 1990.
In the last 22 years, Deuba has established himself as a key politician in national politics.
Many in the district believe that the infrastructural development had become possible in Dadeldhura due to Deuba’s emergence in national politics. Some other villagers who are happy to find Deuba’s progress, however, lament for failing to pay enough attention to uplift rural parts and underprivileged communities in the far-flung areas of the same district.
As local Congress leaders campaign seeking vote for Deuba, they claim that he played crucial roles in implementing several development activities and he can further do a lot for the development of the district.
“Deuba is actively involved in each development initiatives, including building roads, electrification and development of educational and health sectors. It wouldn’t be possible without his role,” said NC Mahasamiti member Hemraj Chataut.
However, leaders from rival parties including UCPN (Maoist) and CPN-UML don’t agree with Chataut. They claimed that the development activities that have been taking place in the district were nothing more than that what happen in regular development process. “The roads that are built and the electrification done here aren’t the result of special initiatives taken for our district but it became possible also because Dadeldhura connects Dipayal, which is the headquarters of the development region,” said Man Sing Mal, member of UCPN (Maoist) Seti-Mahakali State Committee. Dadeldhura also connects other hilly districts such as Baitadi, Darchula, Bajhang and Achham in the far west.
CPN-UML district leader Yagyaraj Awasthi admitted that Deuba’s presence in the national level politics made some difference for the development of the district. But he didn’t agree that Deuba took special initiatives for the area’s growth and transformation. “Deuba has done something but he could have done more had he worked hard,” said Awasthi. “Other leaders who get the responsibility can do better if they get an opportunity. Until now, no one has got a chance for over two decades.”
Hub of international agencies in the region
Dadeldhura is one of few districts having a heavy presence of international as well as local NGOs, offices of UN bodies and other development agencies.
A section of society argued that it is because of the influence of Deuba and his wife Arjoo Rana Deuba that the international agencies chose the district for developmental and other social activities. They claimed that these NGOs have played important role in social transformation, income and employment generations, among others.
On the same grounds, they argue that people in Dadeldhura don’t want to elect other leaders to replace Deuba.
Maoist Mal claimed that the NGOs have done nothing to uplift the people in need. “They have only given jobs for Congress cadres and nothing more than that,” he said.
As rival parties become impatient to break Deuba’s over two-decade-long hold in the district politics, the UCPN (Maoist) has fielded its popular youth leader Khagaraj Bhatta and CPN-UML has nominated an intellectual party leader Dr Tara Joshi, who is also the party chief in the district.
While some believe that given his national political height, Deuba will easily defeat his rivals, others claim that it is not going to be that easy for him as voters may support candidates who can be easily available when they are in need for addressing local concerns.
Related story
NC wins in five out of seven local units in PM Deuba's district
