Some are arguing that Dahal's arrival in Rukum East, which lacks even basic infrastructure for development, is an opportunity to demand development, while others are commenting that he has come here looking for an opportunity to ensure his victory.
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The election atmosphere in the district has further heated up due to the issue of Nepali Communist Party (NCP) coordinator and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal filing his candidacy from Rukum East in the upcoming elections.
On December 10, 2019, at a program organized by the NCP in Rukum West, Dahal said ‘I am sure that I will contest the upcoming elections from Rukum East’ , and his victory and defeat have been discussed from various angles.
The ‘youngest district’ formed after federalization after separation from the former Rukum, Rukum East is also the only Himalayan district in Lumbini Province. Dahal’s arrival in Rukum East, which lacks basic infrastructure for development, has been seen as an opportunity for development, while some are commenting that he has come here to find an opportunity to ensure his victory.
On December 10, the NCP had recommended the names of Ganeshman Pun, Daljit Shripali, Tej Bahadur Oli, Jitman Pun, Subodhraj Sirpali, Lal Bahadur Bista, Kailash Malla, Chandra Rasaili and Sarjana Karki from Rukum East for the House of Representatives. Coordinator Dahal’s name was not on this list. Later, the sudden announcement that Dahal himself would contest the elections gained attention. Meanwhile, the discussion took shape after Dahal publicly confirmed this issue at a program in Rukum West.
The recommended candidate on this issue, Subodh Raj Sirpali, has said that even though 7 others have dropped out, his and Jeetman Pun's claims remain intact. Sirpali said that they claim that the candidate should be decided from the names recommended by the district committee and said that they will discuss the issue further.
'On Poush 24, there was a joint discussion between the recommended candidates and the district leaders with the party coordinator. It is true that he (Dahal) himself expressed his desire to contest the election from Rukum East. But as far as I know, no further discussion has taken place since then,' he said. 'Two days later, after he announced this issue as a certainty in the Rukum West meeting, we have had some difficulty. But we will make our point clear soon.'
Adding to this, Sirpali has claimed that Coordinator Dahal can go to any constituency in the country to contest the election, but they cannot go beyond their constituency, so they should get the opportunity.
In all the elections since 2064, the then Maoist Center has been winning the general elections from the former Rukum and from Rukum East after the formation of a new district after federalism. There is a rush to become a candidate among leaders and activists with the confidence that their party will win in the upcoming elections as well.
Tej Bahadur Oli, the NCP district in-charge and recommended candidate, said that it is almost certain that Coordinator Dahal will come to Rukum East. ‘We had also decided in his (Dahal) name from the district committee. When it was made public, only 9 people including me were involved,’ he said, ‘Now if the coordinator comrade comes to contest the election in the district, we will go for it with one mind.’
On this issue, another leader of the NCP and the chairman of Puthauttarganga Rural Municipality-5, Tikasai Gharti, also said that it was a pleasure to have the party coordinator as their candidate. ‘Yesterday, only a few people had contact and relationship with the party headquarters. Due to which we leaders and workers at the grassroots level did not get to tell our joys and sorrows. Now this time has come. He will have the opportunity to be directly informed about the real situation in Rukum East. This will benefit the district party and everyone. That is why this is good news,’ he said.
While there is talk of Dahal coming to the district to contest the election in the NCP, the Congress has recommended the names of Kusumdevi Thapa, the UML has recommended the names of Khemman Khadka, Asha Swarnakar, Chintamani Dahal, Mohan Bhakta Budhamagar and Gopal Prasad Sunar, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has recommended the name of Lakhan Swarna as candidates.
Janardan Sharma's affiliated party Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party (Pralopa), which was formed after a split from the then Maoist Center, has recommended the name of Sandeep Pun, a former Maoist activist and the one who lost his mother in the armed conflict. He has already publicly announced that he is ready to contest the election with his own former chairman Dahal. In the previous general election, Purna Bahadur Gharti of the then Maoist Center defeated Kailash Kumar Malla of UML by a margin of 7,051 votes.
While the former Maoist and the current NCP, which have been winning public opinion in their favor in the past elections, are claiming that they will continue to win, the fact that coordinator Dahal will be the candidate has added more enthusiasm to the leaders and activists. But other parties and leaders are saying that no matter who the candidate is this time, the NCP's victory will not be easy and they will try to win public opinion in their favor.
