By Our Reporter
The local level elections have concluded peacefully and the results of almost all municipalities except for Triyuga of Udaypur and Budhiganga of Bajura have been made public.
As expected, Nepali Congress emerged as the largest party winning 323 local levels leaving the UML far behind, which won 203 local levels.
In 2017 local level polls, the UML had emerged as the largest party winning 294 local levels while NC won 266.
The Maoist Centre that had won 106 local levels in 2017 improved its condition by winning 121 local levels this time.
However, the CPN (Unified Socialist) did not fare well as it won only 20 local levels, including Pokhara Metropolitan City and Hetauda Sub Metropolitan City.
The electoral alliance of the five ruling parties became effective on overall local levels. They completely eliminated the UML from winning the mayoral posts in all six metropolitan cities. However, its candidates won the post of deputy mayor in four metropolitan cities as the voters of the ruling alliance made more votes of the deputy mayor of other parties rather than NC invalid because of complex ballot papers. In Kathmandu, almost 40,000 votes and in Biratnagar 36,000 votes cast to the deputy mayor were found invalid. As a result, the coalition candidate for the deputy mayoral post lost the elections.
Of course, it is the Nepali Congress that benefitted more from the alliance in metropolis and municipalities. But UML too proved that the party had not become that weak even after it suffered a split.
However, the victory of independent candidates in major cities has posed a challenge to the established parties.
The victory of independent candidates, who have never been associated with any political party, in Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Dharan Sub Metropolitan City has sent a clear message that the people are not happy with the mainstream political parties.
Although in other cities like Janakpur, Dhangadhi and Bardibas, the independent candidates win, but they were rebel candidates of the Nepali Congress.
The win of Harka Samapang in Dharan is a big surprise because he won the poll all alone while in Kathmandu Balen Shah received support from the youth living abroad who convinced their parents and relatives back home to vote for him. His digital campaign turned effective and ultimately won by defeating heavyweights like UML’s Keshav Stthapit.
When Balen Shah won the heavyweight party candidates in Kathmandu with a big margin, Harka Sampang, a lone man in his early 30s won in Dharan Sub Metropolitan City, NC rebel candidate Manoj Shah Sudi won as an independent candidate in Janakpurdham Sub Metropolitan City and Gopi Hamal won in Dhangadhi Sub Metropolitan City.
Likewise, NC rebel candidates Pralahad Chhetri won in Bradibas Municipality in Mahottari and Basudev Adhikary in Lalbandi Municipality, Sarlahi. Likewise, several independent candidates won the post of ward chair across the country.
The win of Balen Shah and Sampang, who were not associated with any party has shown that the people in the big cities are not happy with the performance of the major parties. And if candidates like Shah and Sampang contest the parliamentary elections in December, many leaders of the major parties could lose elections, especially in the urban areas if the parties do not correct them.
Will the five-party alliance continue?
Now the local level election is over and the leaders of the ruling alliance including the Nepali Congress have concluded that the electoral alliance was effective. Even Madhav Kumar Nepal of the CPN (Unified Socialist) who was reportedly unhappy with the lesser number of posts his party won has said that the alliance was effective.
Nepali Congress had won 266 local levels in 2017 and won almost 225 local levels, the Maoist Centre won 121 while it had won only 106 in 2017 and the CPN (Unified Socialist) won 20 local levels including Pokhara Metropolitan City.
It was the alliance that helped these parties win more seats this time.
Of course, the alliance was forged to defeat the CPN-UML, and the mission succeeded because the UML that had won 294 seats in 2017 won only 203 seats this time. Moreover, the UML failed to win any mayoral post in six metropolises this time while in 2017 it had won Kathmandu and Pokhara. Likewise, the UML that had won seven sub-metropolis in 2017 has won only three. However, it won deputy mayoral posts in four of the six metropolises. Moreover, the alliance won even in Damak, the hometown of UML chair KP Oli. However, the UML managed to win the majority seats in Jhapa because of the wrong strategies of Krishna Sitaula and NC Province Chief Uddab Thapa. When the two focused more to weaken the presence of party general secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma than to win the elections, NC lost elections in Jhapa. In Morang, NC lost because Dr Shekhar Koirala denied forging an alliance there.
Now when the mission of the alliance has achieved its goal, a question has to raise about whether the alliance will continue or not.
However, NC and CPN (Unified Socialist) have clearly expressed their views on the continuity of the alliance.
NC senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel in Tanahun said that the present alliance will continue till the elections of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. Likewise, Madhav Kumar Nepal also hinted at the same. Indeed, the alliance is more important for the CPN (Unified Socialist) for its survival. Maoist Centre boss Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has a single mission to teach a lesson to KP Oli, will surely stand for the alliance in the upcoming elections. And if the alliance continues, the UML will face more problems in the parliamentary polls than in the recent local polls.
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