Elections 2022
By Achyut Regmi
November 20 elections are just a week away. Then nearly 18 million Nepali voters will be casting their ballots to elect new members of parliament and provincial assemblies.
Little wonder then that all the candidates are racing against time trying to woo voters - holding mass meetings and participating in door-to-door campaigns. Days before Nepalis go to big polls, the candidates' election manifestos and local agenda are out.
The main competition in the election is usually between the candidates of political parties. But there is a craze for independent candidates in this election as no one was prohibited to file for independent candidacy in a democratic system.
The victory of independent candidates including Harka Sampang from Dharan, Balen Shah from Kathmandu and Gopal Hamal from Dhangadhi in the local-level election held in May might be the reason behind an increased number of independent candidates in the HoR and Province Assembly elections.
Independents in numbers
Analysts say that the number of independent candidates has increased due mainly to distrust towards political parties. Also, the electorate is dissatisfied. Party workers and cadres seem to have started drifting towards independent candidates from the local-level elections in May.
A total of 360 candidates have filed their candidacies for 15 seats of House of Representatives members in three districts of Kathmandu Valley. Of them, 128 are independents, which is 35.55 percent of the total candidacy.
Similarly, 340 candidates have filed their candidacies for 30 seats in Province Assembly in the three districts. Of them, 119 are independent candidates, which is 35 percent. Likewise, the number of independent candidates is high rather than candidates of political parties for HoR members in Kathmandu Constituency-7.
There are 16 independent candidates while the number of candidates from political parties is 13. Fifteen independent candidates have filed their candidacies for the Provincial Assembly election in Lalitpur Constituency 1 (A) and (B).
Out of 255 candidates for HoR members in Kathmandu-10, there are 97 independent candidates. Similarly, 40 candidates are in the election race in Bhaktapur Constituency-2. Of them, 15 are independents. Sixteen out of 63 candidates in Lalitpur Constituency-3, are independent candidates.
Candidates and their concerns
Independent HoR election candidate from the Lalitpur constituency-2, Deepesh Kumar KC, said that he believed the number of independent candidates was rising as a protest against the ‘syndicate’ system within the political parties.
He said: “People with open minds within the party usually get discouraged by the leadership as they are barred from testing their time through ballots, that’s why the trend of independent candidacy is increasing."
And continued: “I am in politics with a clear mission and vision. To a larger extent, my candidacy is also for the fight for ideological independence. The increasing wave of independent candidacy suggests a larger public realization for a change in the nation."
KC will be facing Krishna Lal Maharjan of CPN (Unified Socialist), Prem Bahadur Maharjan of CPN (UML) and seven other fellow independents in the elections. Krishna Lal, who is the ruling alliance candidate, had won the previous elections as the then CPN (UML) candidate with 27,713 votes.
Similarly, Rajendra Pathak who filed his independent nomination from Kathmandu-1, said free education and free health care services guaranteed by the Constitution are his prime election agenda. Pathak who was long associated with the practice of law and journalism insisted on the full implementation of the people’s fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution to see an improvement in people’s living standards.
“People’s unhindered access to electricity and drinking water is also in the election agenda of mine and I will dedicate enough time to hear the public issues regularly and do my best to get them addressed.”
He said he is in favour of revoking federalism and secularism. He was long associated with the Nepal Congress student wing Nepal Students’ Union and youth wing Nepal Tarun Dal and identified himself as independent for a year.
Ranju Neupane, better known as Ranju Darshana, who contested the mayoral election from Kathmandu in 2017, is in the fray from Kathmandu 5 as an independent. Neupane is taking on CPN (UML)'s senior vice-president Ishwor Pokhrel and Nepali Congress youth leader Pradip Poudel. Neupane said that she would work to promote the mental health sector.
"At present every household has one or two persons who are suffering from mental health issues. The policy on mental health is also not timely. My first priority would be to address this problem," she added.
Also Read: Five independent candidates to watch
Also Read: Tales of six women leaders who battled their way to the top
Stick effect
Similarly, social campaigner Hemraj Thapa is also contesting the election from this constituency. Some youths, enthused by Balen Shah's election as Kathmandu Mayor and Harka Sampang's victory as Dharan Mayor, have chosen 'stick' as their election symbol.
As independents, both Shah and Sampang had contested the election with 'stick' as their election symbol. The candidates seem taking the 'stick campaign' to the doorsteps of the voters, canvassing for independent candidates through the 'Hamro Nepali Party' (Our Nepali Party).
Engineer Aakarshan Pokhrel (Prabendra Pokhrel) who is a candidate from the Hamro Nepali Party in Kathmandu constituency number 7 says he will focus on policy-level works if elected. Pokhrel is competing against 13 party candidates and an additional 16 independents, including CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Asmita Singh (Manushi) Yami Bhattarai, CPN (UML)'s Shyam Kumar Ghimire and UML's rebel candidate Ramveer Manandhar. Bhattarai is the common candidate of the present ruling alliance.
Pokhrel, who returned to Nepal after many years in the United States, said the people in his constituency have no, big untenable demands. Their demands can be easily fulfilled, he said. He has made public his 10 commitments for the election. "There are problems related to drinking water, poor road conditions, traffic congestion, drainage, solid waste management, health and rising inflation. These are problems that can be easily addressed. My main focus would be on them," he said.
According to him, promoting good governance, provision of free health services from the government hospitals, quality free education, clean water and development of a modern agriculture system are the present needs. Preservation and promotion of art and culture as well as the cultural heritages, increasing greenery, construction of a north-south 'tourism highway' and drafting a national tourism policy and implementing it are also Pokhrel's priorities.
Suman Sayami is another candidate from Kathmandu 8 on behalf of the Hamro Nepali Party. He said his main election plank is addressing the problems of the locals including those related to local roads and services. He was also the candidate for the post of mayor of Kathmandu in the last local election. He bagged 13,770 votes in the municipal election.
Encouraged by this, he is now contesting the election for the member of the federal parliament. Sayami has been raising the issue of rehabilitation along with employment for the people displaced due to the road expansion works in his constituency. -RSS
