'Right now, it's just me. The other friends are also strong. I've met everyone who is aspiring.'
What you should know
Sagar Dhakal of Gulmi reached Dadeldhura in the 2079 parliamentary elections to compete with former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had won six consecutive elections from Dadeldhura.
Although many were skeptical in the initial days, Sagar gave a good fight to Deuba in the election. Deuba won by getting 25,534 votes, while Sagar got 13,042 votes.
Sagar, who was an independent candidate at that time, has now joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party. While the locals of Dadeldhura are looking forward to the upcoming House of Representatives elections, Sagar is preparing to compete with Deuba again. A brief conversation between Dhakal, who is preparing to contest the election from Dadeldhura as an official candidate from the RSS, and Kantipur journalist :
Are you contesting the election again from Dadeldhura?
Yes, this time I am contesting the election from Dadeldhura. I am going to Dadeldhura for election campaigning in the next few days.
The election is coming, what are the preparations?
I am in touch with the Dadeldhura Contact Committee in Kathmandu . We are gathering the youth . I have already started creating the electoral atmosphere .
Has the decision been made by the party ?
Officially, no one has made a decision . It is almost like my final .
There are many aspirants from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Dadeldhura, are you in touch with them or what ?
It is good to have many aspirants in democracy . It should be . It is not a matter of just one person coming . Whether it is Balendra Shah's area, whether it is Ravi Lamichhane's area . Whether it is mine or not . It is about the chances of winning and who will be right in national politics .
If you say that, your name will be eliminated from the party, right?
Right now I am the only one. Other friends are also strong. I have met all the aspirants. I have respect for them. Everyone is positive. They have said they will support. No one is against. They have said they will support after Dadeldhura.
Voters are complaining that not many people came to the district after the elections, and then the locals are complaining that the people of Dadeldhura are walking around saying that they are 'sheep' right after the elections, what is the point?
No matter how ambitious you are. I have visited different places in Dadeldhura more than them. During the Gen-G movement, I was in the villages of Dadeldhura. At that time, Balendra Shah and others called me to Kathmandu and I went. I have not uttered the insulting word 'sheep'. I have pinned what I wrote on the social network Twitter for three years. I have given an explanation there.
It is natural for them to complain like this. We will move forward by overcoming it. They have a big contribution to me getting so many votes. Getting 13,000 votes in a place like Dadeldhura is a big deal. They changed the politics of the country. So now the foundation has been laid. Now we just have to pour it.
I went so far as to run as a candidate and got a decent amount of votes, and seeing this example, Balendra Shah is also going to contest the election with KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa-5. We have nominated him as the Prime Minister.
