As of Friday, 139 political parties, including 21 new ones, have registered with the Election Commission to participate in the upcoming House of Representatives elections scheduled by the government for Falgun 21.

As 108 old parties, including the former, have formed parties to participate in the elections,  Political parties have given a message that they are ready for the elections. As the election time approaches, district and municipal leaders and voters in Koshi Province are seen excited.  Even UML cadres, who have been saying that they will not participate in the elections, calling the government formed after the Gen-G movement unconstitutional, are becoming positive about the Falgun 21 elections.  In Jhapa, the home district of UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli,  leaders and cadres are seen taking a stand that they must participate in the general elections. 

UML Chairman Kosish Ghimire of Birtamod Municipality-3 says that the atmosphere for the elections is ready no matter what the leadership says.  ‘The electoral environment has been created . There is no question of the party not participating,’ he says, ‘The morale of the cadres is high now.’ 

The election campaign has begun not only in the urban areas of the east but also in rural areas. Congress President of Jhapa Rural Municipality-2 Dwarika Khatiwada said that they are waiting for the party's central directive to conduct election-related activities. 'We are in a state of preparation, we are just waiting for the central directive.'

Meanwhile, local leader Gopi Rijal of Mechinagar-2 says that the local Maoist structures have started preparations for the election in the backdrop of the unification. According to him, the entire party and leaders and cadres are working together for the election. 'The election must be held anyway,' he says, 'there is no alternative to moving the country forward through a new mandate.'

Meanwhile, in Khotang

, the parties are more entangled in internal party squabbles than in the general election. The Congress has become the most uncertain. The leadership is vacant after District President Bishnukumar Rai was subjected to disciplinary action. As a result, the organizational activities of the Congress in the district are almost zero. ‘Organizational work and activities have come to a complete standstill,’ says Vice President Ivan Rai. According to Congress District Secretary Gyanendra Joshi, Khotang Congress has become ‘inactive’ as even the old leaders are not in the executive role. UML, on the other hand, seems focused on strengthening the organization despite saying ‘there is no electoral environment’. District in-charge Vishal Bhattarai says that leaders and cadres are on ‘alert’ to work according to the instructions coming from the center. He said, ‘An unconstitutional government cannot hold elections, there is no environment. A quick election can be held only after the restoration of the House of Representatives and amendment of the constitution.’ The Nepali Communist Party has also stated that formal preparations have not yet begun as the center has not yet provided a blueprint for unity in the local structure. In Khotang, parties including RPP and JSP Nepal have also not been seen electorally active.

In the Himalayan district

Taplejung

, UML leaders are showing more interest in selecting representatives for the general convention than for the House of Representatives elections. District Secretary Santosh Chamling says, ‘The issue of restoring the parliament is being raised, so the leadership is currently focused on the general convention, not much interest in the elections.’ Congress District President Gajendra Tumyahang is also more interested in the general convention seen in the party than the elections. Nepali Communist Party cadres are waiting for the Center’s instructions as the district structure has not been finalized. District in-charge Khel Prasad Budhakhetri says, ‘We have to go to the elections, as all the parties have registered with the commission, so the environment will gradually be created.’ The Hark Sampang-led Labor Culture Party, which is engaged in building a new political organization, is aggressively expanding its organization. Various identity groups here are also in dialogue with each other focusing on the elections. In Panchthar

, election discussions have started from the streets to the kitchens. New groups formed after the Genji movement are running a campaign to dismantle the structures of the old parties. Congress District President Rupnarayan Jabegu says, ‘The lower-level structures are ready for the elections, but the uncertainty of ‘regular or special general convention?’ at the center has affected the preparations.’

According to UML Panchthar President Bishnu Prasad Sapkota (Bimal), preparations are underway to improve the results down to the village level along with the selection of general convention representatives. ‘After the general convention, we will go into the elections in a more concentrated manner,’ says Sapkota, ‘We must participate in the elections. There is no way out by running away.’ The Nepali Communist Party is focused on the unity campaign in each district. District coordinator Vishal Rasaili says, ‘We will start the formal election campaign after the unity is completed, and then we will focus on the House of Representatives elections.’ The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sansthan Party is collecting applications for proportional candidates. Hark Sampang’s Shram Sanskriti Party is campaigning intensively in the hilly districts. The Ujjaya Nepal Party has also accelerated its organization expansion. A large portion of the workers of the Identity Front, Limbuwan and JSP are seen in a dilemma as to which party to join.

A wave of entry into new parties has also been seen in Kashi. Most leaders have left the old parties and started turning towards the new power. The youth of Panchthar are in a dilemma after the groups of Gen-G started to be seen affiliated with separate parties in the Election Commission. Groups like Gen-G United, Parivartan Group, Panchthar Gen-G are busy reviewing each other. Gen-G United coordinator Rakesh Rai says, ‘Gen-G must be united for the sake of honoring the martyrs and the essence of the movement, but the environment to bring everyone together has not yet been created.’

In the capital of Kosi

Biratnagar

, voters seem more excited than party leaders and activists. Mohammad Wasir Miyan, 60, of Biratnagar-1, is a long-time supporter of the Congress. Saying that the old parties have suffered a big setback after the Gen-G movement, Miyan says, ‘Now once the people give the parties a chance to improve, there is no telling what will happen after that.’ Revanti Devi Mandal of Katahari Rural Municipality, which is connected to Biratnagar metropolis, is also equally excited to vote. She turns to the leaders and says, ‘We are ready to vote, leaders, are you ready to become candidates?’ According to Deepak Chapagain, the president of the Biratnagar Metropolitan Congress, the leaders have not been able to increase their interest in the elections due to internal strife within the party. He says, ‘The party has been registered, but the enthusiasm for going to the elections has not been seen much among the leaders and workers. There is confusion about whether to go with the old Congress or the new Congress. It is also not clear what agenda to take before the people.’

Kapil Sunar of Budhiganga Rural Municipality in Morang, who recently joined the Nepali Communist Party, seems confident that the elections will be held on the scheduled date in a fearless and peaceful manner. He says, ‘The parties have no choice but to participate in the scheduled elections to give the country a way out.’

Mohammad Zahir, a voter from Budhiganga-2, also says that he is ready to vote if the elections are held. ‘Voters are waiting for the elections,’ he says.

The case of UML demanding the restoration of parliament is pending in the Supreme Court. It seems that UML has adopted a strategy of participating in the elections if the restoration is not done. UML Biratnagar Metropolitan Secretary Somraj Thapa clarified that his party is not against the elections, saying, ‘It is just that we cannot participate if the government does not create an environment.’