Southern Nepal has emerged as the epicentre of campaigning ahead of March 5 general elections with three prime ministerial candidates contesting from the region
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KATHMANDU — Southern Nepal has emerged as the epicentre of campaigning ahead of March 5 general elections with three prime ministerial candidates contesting from the region.
Former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is challenging deposed prime minister K P Sharma Oli from Jhapa 5 constituency in Koshi province while Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa is contesting from Sarlahi 4 in Madhesh province.
While 35-year-old Shah has been projected as prime ministerial candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) has officially declared 73-year-old Oli as its prime ministerial candidate.
Jhapa district is a traditional stronghold of Oli, who has won six out of seven parliamentary elections in the past, whereas Balen is a new candidate.
Balen, the rapper-turned-politician, who formally joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) after quitting the mayoral post, has travelled extensively in Koshi province besides visiting his ancestral town Janakpur in Dhanusha district before returning to Kathmandu on Saturday.
In Janakpur, the former Kathmandu mayor gave a speech in Maithali language, earning much appreciation.
"Balen was a crowd puller wherever he visited as part of his election campaign in districts of Koshi province, including Jhapa, Sunsari, Morang, Taplejung, Ilam, Terhathum, Sankhuwasabha and Dhankuta," said Saraswatee Karmacharya, senior journalist associated with Nepal Samacharpatra.
People from all age groups wanted to see and greet him wherever he went. Youth and children were eager to take a 'selfie' with him during his week-long tour to Koshi province, he said.
"During his stay in Damak of Jhapa district, more than 3,000 people visited the house where he was staying in a single day," according to Karmacharya.
Oli was also present in Jhapa 5, when Balen reached the district to meet his followers and party cadres.
During the day of filing nomination on January 20, there was a brief scuffle between the supporters of Oli and Balen in Damak municipality of Jhapa district.
On the other hand, Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa, who is also the prime ministerial candidate from his party, reached Sarlahi in Madhesh province from where he is contesting the parliamentary election.
Thapa attended meetings organised by the local unit of the party in Sarlahi 4, and met his supporters there launching his campaign.
"In the past also, Madhesh was the centre of politics in Nepal. Being densely populated and having a large number of parliamentary seats, southern Nepal has always been an important region from a political point of view," said Dinesh Tripthi, senior advocate.
"Those who can influence the Madhesh region can also gain political power," he said. "Therefore, it is natural that in this election too, political parties have intensified their campaign in southern Nepal aiming to capture more and more seats in this region."
The general elections were necessitated after Oli resigned as prime minister on September 9, following violent protests by the youth-led Gen Z group against his government over corruption and a ban on social media.
Sushila Karki, 73, became the interim prime minister on September 12 and on her recommendation, the president dissolved the House of Representatives and announced the election date.