Whenever elections come, Ravi Shrestha (54) of Sohrakhutte has only one complaint about the candidates who come with big dreams. He is a voter of Kathmandu constituency number 7. Last year, the candidates similarly stopped by his grocery store. He made some notes in his diary.

In these three years, neither the winners nor the losers have returned. Now, the House of Representatives elections are being held again on Falgun 21. Ravi feels that some new and some repeat faces will come through the same path in this election too. ‘But no one has hope and faith,’ he says with doubt.

No matter how big the promises are, election announcements seem pale to Rabin when ordinary citizens get caught up in the cumbersome obstacles of the administration. He remembers the ordeal of going to get his wife Rabita's passport some time ago. ‘The administration tormented us for three months on the pretext that the letter 'B' in the name was not clear in the citizenship. While we had the red document, voter ID card and national ID card that confirmed that it was Rabita, the administration forced us to go from ward number 17 to 16 for months to bring copies,’ says Ravi.

Ravi and his wife are MBA passouts. He says that if an educated person has to fight to get a passport, he will be shocked to think how much other citizens will suffer. ‘When you have to leave your job for months for your own rights, which candidate would you expect this change from?’ he adds.

However, as the elections approach, Saurabh, the son of the Gen-G generation who is abroad, has suggested to him, ‘The opportunity should be given to the new ones.’ He urges candidates to be aware of this in a city where problems keep piling up with the increase in facilities.

Mahesh Tuladhar (45) of Nayabazar is making a statement that he will not vote this time. Except for social media, there has been no increase in election activity around him. And Mahesh is not enthusiastic. ‘I have been voting continuously since 2054. But till date, no one has been satisfied with the work,' says Mahesh, 'neither the old ones did it nor the new ones. Even those who came as new ones have not been able to get along.' Mahesh, who runs a jewelry shop, points his finger in front of his own shop and adds, 'Look at this road. No matter how many times we pitch, it keeps getting worse. There is no sewage management. Melamchi water is leaking in places. There is no water in some places. If something is not going well, who will we trust?'

Repeated candidates in the fray

27 candidates are in the fray from Kathmandu constituency number 7 this time. 11 of them are independent candidates. Some party candidates have repeated themselves. Ganesh Parajuli of the National Independent Party won from this constituency in the 2079 BS elections. The same Parajuli is in the fray from this constituency this time too from the Rashtriya Swatantra Party. Parajuli had won by getting 8,743 votes at that time. The two strong rivals who competed with him in the election field did not repeat this time. UML candidate Shyam Kumar Ghimire got 6,800 votes, while CPN-Maoist Center candidate Manushi Yami Bhattarai got 6,063 votes. She was the joint candidate from the Congress-Maoist alliance.

Manushi's mother Hisila Yami had contested the election from the same constituency in 2070 BS. UML's Rambir Manandhar had won consecutively from this constituency in 2070 and 2074 BS. But the UML stronghold was demolished by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is known as an alternative party, in 2079 BS. The Congress, which did not field its candidate due to the alliance last time, has put forward Pramodahari Guragain this time. He is close to Gagan Thapa. This time, Prakash Shrestha is in the election fray from UML. Lal Kumar Lama is the candidate from Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Basanta Prasad Manandhar is the candidate from NCP. These three are also repeat faces in the election contest. In 2079, UML candidate Prakash won the Kathmandu Constituency No. 7 Provincial Assembly (2). He received 5,218 votes. Lal Kumar, who competed with him in Kathmandu Constituency No. 7 Provincial Assembly (2), is now a candidate for the House of Representatives. Sabin Tamang of Nepali Congress came in second, while Lal Kumar came in third. Lal Kumar received 2,797 votes. Prakash also became a provincial minister twice. Now, after resigning from the provincial assembly, he has entered the election fray for the House of Representatives. And Lal Kumar is contesting again this time.

CPN candidate Manandhar has also resigned from the provincial assembly and entered the election fray. He had won from the then CPN-S from Provincial Assembly Constituency 7 (1).

Similarly, Dirgha Kumar Shrestha from the Rastriya Janamorcha, Gunabahadur Banjara Chhetri from the CPN (United), Ganesh Maya Dangol from the NEMKIPA, Babu Ram Lama from the JSP, Nepal, Pradeep Bhattarai from the AJP, Amin Ratna Tamrakar from the Pralopa, Binod Kumar Gurung from the Rastriya Ekta Dal, Baikuntha Phuyal from the Jai Matrubhumi Party, Maniram Bahadur Pradhan from the Shram Sanskriti Party, Deepak Manandhar from the CPN (Maoist), Bimala Lama from the Ujjaya Nepal Party, and Dipin Pant from the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal (single election symbol) are in the election fray.

The competition could be interesting

Is it Basanta Prasad who won the provincial assembly or Prakash Shrestha or Ganesh Parajuli from the RSVP who won the House of Representatives? There seems to be an interesting competition between candidates in this area where the RPP also has good votes. Similarly, Pramodahari also has a good image among the voters, and the fact that the Congress is entering the elections under the leadership of Gagan Thapa from the special general convention has added hope to the area. ‘I thought the Congress was over.’ But with the arrival of Gagan Vishwa, I feel that the party has changed. That is why we are optimistic,’ says a voter of the Kshetrapati.

Ganesh Parajuli, who entered the parliament after winning the previous election, says that he will focus on policy making and lawmaking, so he should not mislead the people by giving false assurances. ‘The job of an MP should not be like that of a ward chairperson at the local level, but should be to make strategic policies and monitor whether those policies have worked properly at the ground level,’ he says. ‘Our main fight now is against the corruption that is rampant in the country and to maintain good governance.’ I am firmly committed to ending the 'commission system' in development works from the federal budget in my constituency.' He says that he is also committed to lobbying federal bodies for big projects that the local government cannot do. 'For example, we are constantly taking initiatives to complete the long-stalled Ring Road project. We are working on a model of coordinating development plans with the local level and ensuring the participation of local people to maintain their quality,' he adds.

RPP's Lal Kumar Lama reflects on his previous defeat. 'At that time, our votes were divided because Bhatij became a candidate from the Congress. On top of that, six parties had formed an alliance. That is not the case now,' says Lal Kumar.

UML's candidate for the House of Representatives, Prakash Shrestha, says that he is fully familiar with the geography and psychology of the people of this area. ‘I am confident that the voters here will trust me as I have been active in the organization of this area since 2048/49. I am confident that I will be the first in terms of competition and that I will win, because the people have trusted my work,’ he says. He also said that he has prioritized sewage management, heritage conservation and systematic urbanization in the inner wards.

Sarveshwar Shrestha, 53, of Sohrakhutte, says that he has given opportunities to new people every time. This time too, he has looked for new candidates. ‘I go to vote, but there is no change after casting my vote. I am just completing the formalities,’ he says.

Bharat Pandey, 39, of Ranivan, was a Gorkha voter till 2064. He too had voted for different parties and candidates in the past. ‘The old parties and leaders did not work as expected.’ This time, I think we should give an opportunity to new forces and young candidates,' he says.

Which places are in Kathmandu-7?

10 wards of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Tarakeswar and Nagarjuna municipalities fall under this constituency. Mhaipi, Balaju, Kshetrapati, Nayabajar, Sohrakhutte, Thamel, Dhobichaur, Thahiti, Bhurungkhel, Naradevi, Nhayoukha, Machhindratol of wards 16, 17, 18, 25 of the metropolis, Tinpipale of wards 3, 4, 5 of Tarakeswar municipality, Goldhunga, Lolang and Raniban, Thulobharyang, Gairigaun of wards 1, 2, 3 of Nagarjuna municipality fall under this constituency.