Shishir Khanal, who has worked in education sector reforms for a long time, has won for the second time from Kathmandu constituency number 6. That too by a huge margin. An edited excerpt of an interview with Khanal, who was met at the counting center in the excitement of his victory, by Kantipur correspondent Vivek Pokharel : You also worked on the bridge connecting Balendra and Ravi. How do you feel now as you hold this garland of victory and the certificate in your hand? Naturally, I am very excited. The way the votes came, I would not have expected for many. But when we were going door to door for about one and a half to two months recently, the way the general public was welcoming us, the way they were cheering us on, and the encouragement given to us by our Gen-G brothers and sisters and the impact of the phone calls from Nepalis abroad are very prominent in this. In that sense, there has been a huge, tremendous rise in national politics of the new generation, and I am naturally very happy to have my own role in it.

The opposition party Rukh election symbol has received a total of 6,647 votes. The arithmetic of your vote is 27,719. How do you view this difference of almost 20,000? Is this vote a vote of anger, a vote of trust, a vote of hope, or whose vote is it?

This time it is a vote of trust and hope. Last time, it could be said to be a vote of anger to a large extent. We were new. When I was elected from this same constituency, I had won by a margin of almost 40 percent. But this time, we are not so new. We reached Parliament with 21 members. The way we presented our arguments and presentations in Parliament, we remained even during the short tenure of the government. The efforts we made to solve the problems while we were in government and the presentations we made in parliament have had an impact. We are also expecting that the then mayor of Kathmandu, our senior leader, is now on the winning streak in Jhapa. I have seen this as a hope for the youth leadership that has been tested in a way in the overall work he has done in Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

As the election results are being made public, some are even calling it a flood. What is your comment on this?

Such superficial analyses are meaningless. Till 45 days ago, there was a big consensus in Nepali society that this election would not happen. Some senior leaders were saying the same thing till last week. There were also those who said that there would be no peaceful election. There was also an analysis that there is no constitution in which any party can get a majority. Coming out of all these superficial analyses, the general public has clearly expressed its opinion in favor of change, youth leadership, good governance and prosperity.

This is not a very new party either. We have been acquainted for three years in one way or another. The Prime Minister we proposed in the executive role is our senior leader. We were also in the parliament in the previous term. Many common people have praised us for our very good performance in the parliament. In that sense, we feel that we have a leadership that can deliver results.

Many are also curious about whether you will be seen in the next cabinet or not?

Naturally, when the full results of the general election come out, we will have a challenge. That is, we have to deliver in a short time. We are clearly aware of that and only the kind of leadership that can deliver, that can inspire hope in Nepal, will go to the cabinet.

Whether you go or not?

It is a decision that the party, the party leadership will make later. Whatever role I am in—in a parliamentary role or an executive role—I will continue to use my abilities for the benefit of my constituency and the country as a whole.

What do you say to the voters?

To the voters of the entire constituency number 6 and the voters across the country, the way you have given historic and unprecedented results on behalf of the National Independent Party has added a lot of responsibility to us. As expected by you, we will continue to work for good governance and prosperity.