Raut said, ”A big demand of the Madhesis—which has not been fulfilled in Nepal yet—is to make a Madhesi the Prime Minister. That is being fulfilled because of Balen. That is being fulfilled through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.”
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The biggest impact of the RSVP's electoral wave has been seen in Madhesh Province. Because as the RSVP has become strong in Madhesh, it has had a big impact on Madhesh-centric parties. With this election, the presence of Madhesh-centric political parties that have emerged since 2048 by raising Madhesh issues has not only shrunk, they have reached a point of facing an existential crisis. The Janmat Party led by CK Raut, which emerged as a strong force in Madhesh in the 2079 elections, has also been sidelined in this electoral storm. In this background, a conversation between Janmat Party Chairman CK Raut and Saptari-based Kantipur journalist Bidyananda Ram:
You and your party do not seem to be in a position to win anywhere in this election. What do you think is the reason?
Looking at this as a whole, we should consider Balen (Balendra Shah) as the reason. Because of Balen, we and other parties could not do much good.
Since 2048 BS, parties that have been doing politics on Madhesh issues have been present in all parliaments. For the first time, Madhesh did not send a party that carried its issue. Why?
I have a slightly different opinion on this. The way there has been a complete 'clean sweep' from Madhesh now, I think the main reason for that is the Madhesh agenda. I will mention 2-3 points in it.
We were not in a position to make any Madheshi the Prime Minister even if we won 2, 4 or 10 seats. One of the big demands of the Madheshis—which has not been fulfilled in Nepal so far—is to make a Madheshi the Prime Minister. That is being fulfilled because of Balen. It is being fulfilled through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Secondly, in his historic address in Janakpur, Balen said that federalism should be further strengthened. And, we are not going to Kathmandu to demand rights, but only to visit Pashupati. There cannot be a bigger agenda for Madhesh. I am not affiliated with that party. But if analyzed correctly, it is the culmination of federalism. They should fulfill that. Federalism should be strengthened so much that it has its own army, police and staff system. We should only go to Kathmandu to visit, not for any work.
Third, we had raised the issue of 1 million jobs. They have said that they will go a step further and provide 1.2 million jobs. All these three issues are what Madheshis need. The Madheshi people have supported it because it was raised through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and especially through Balenji. So I don't consider the Madhesh agenda as lost or run away, I just think it was taken up by a different party.
How have you taken the overall election results?
We have taken it positively. Our party may not have won. But it seems that we will get at least a two-thirds majority for the country. So now it's time to end the excuses of not working. Whatever changes the people want, they must be fulfilled without any 'excuses'. We are entering that phase. It may hurt us personally, it may hurt our party. But we believe that forgetting that will lead the country in the direction of a solution.
Balen Shah, the son of Madhesh, is becoming the Prime Minister. How do you see it?
I take it very positively. This is going to address a big demand of Madhesh, which we Madhesh-centric parties could not fulfill. That is why we are happy.
The people did not approve of you. Have the issues of Madhesh been fulfilled? Or have the voters given a message that the same issue should not be made a political issue?
They may not have approved our party more than us. But the Madhesh people have supported the agenda of Madhesh. First—making a Madhesh the Prime Minister. Second—making federalism so strong that no one has to go to Kathmandu for rights. Third—creating 1.2 million jobs. All these are the agenda of Madhesh. Therefore, the agenda of Madhesh is not lost at all. It's just that the responsibility has been given to a different party. As long as the demands of the people are met—the demands of the Madhesi and marginalized people—we don't have to feel sad. The understanding that Madhesi issues should not be made a political issue is wrong. To say it now, if Balen had not joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), if there had been no movement to make Balen the Prime Minister, if Balen had not said he would strengthen federalism, this result would not have come. The RSSS had almost disappeared. The fact that Balen went there, the movement to vote saying that Balen would become the Prime Minister—this shows that the Madhesi agenda is still alive. The people have supported those who can fulfill that agenda.
