By P.R. Pradhan
We are not yet sure whether Balen Shah will become the mayor of Kathmandu or not as the votes from inner Kathmandu will decide the fate of the candidates. Vote counting of the inner Kathmandu has not been started yet. If the inner Kathmandu population has voted for Balen Shah, we can see a big revolution of youths against the traditional political leaders, corrupt political parties and corrupt political system.
Whether Balen Shah will ensure his victory or not, it is not a big thing as the Kathmandu voters have strongly disseminated the message to the corrupt, traditional and visionless leaders of the political parties in the government, who are planning to loot this country by forging a syndicate of the five political parties.
Voters have been fade-up from the political leaders, they want a new political system, they want a change and Balen Shah is the symbol of the change as voters have expected.
UML is still a strong party:
The five parties’ design was to totally wipe out UML from the Nepali political arena. Despite a strong party circulation to vote for the common candidates by the headquarters of the five political parties in the alliance; despite party action against those who violated the headquarters’ order, the local level party workers wished to challenge the party leadership by denying to vote for the election symbol of other political parties. This is a revolt against the slavery mentality of the supreme leaders of the five parties.
Even after such an alliance against the UML, it still occupies the second position after the Nepali Congress. So far, to some extent, the Nepali Congress might have benefited from the electoral alliance, to a greater extent, the Maoist Center, Unified Socialist and Janata Samajbadi Party have been benefited which were able to ensure victory in many local bodies which was impossible for them.
Maybe, the Nepali Congress leadership is happy to feel that the electoral alliance has helped the party in securing the first position, it has already destroyed the party organization. Now, there are no drastic ideological differences among the parties in the alliance. Therefore, some democratic political analysts have advised NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba, Maoist Center chair Pushpakamal Dahal and Unified Socialist Party chairman Madhav Nepal to merge the three-party into one.
Elections without agenda:
The parties and candidates didn’t talk much about their party’s agenda but the parties in the alliance were justifying the need for an electoral alliance and the UML was spending time opposing the five-party alliance. Those alliance leaders were criticizing UML chair K.P. Oli, whereas, Oli was condemning the supreme leaders of the five parties. Both the factions had nothing to say to the voters about their parties’ role in uplifting voters’ livelihood. Both the factions had undermined the voters. Surely, such a trend of undermining the voters will have a serious impact in the upcoming provincial and federal elections.
Nepotism, favouritism and family dynasty:
In many local bodies, independent candidates have dominated and in some places, they have secured victory by challenging the five-party alliance candidates. As the supreme leaders gave tickets to their nearer and dearer ones, popular people-based leaders were compelled to give independent candidature with the support of the voters. This is a lesson for the leaders. This is a message that the party workers and voters are not the slaves of the party leaders. This is also a message that the party workers are not going to accept the wives and daughters of the leaders as the leaders of the people.
Now blame game:
UML has already blamed the five-party alliance for a planned rigging in the elections. UML has issued a statement blaming the ruling alliance for the vote-rigging.
Meanwhile, Maoist leader Haribol Gajurel has blamed the Nepali Congress for betraying the terms and conditions developed by the alliance partners. Gajurel believes that the Maoist Center could secure victory in more local bodies if the NC had maintained honesty.
Accordingly, Unified Socialist party chair Madhav Nepal has felt a lack of honesty among the alliance partners. He has opined for a review on non-cooperation performed by other parties in the alliance. Such blame would come from JSP as well against the parties in the alliance.
Whether the alliance partners will become ready to break the alliance or try to enjoy power by backing Deuba further, the time will say.
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