The problems of the people of Palpa-1 are also centered around their homes and farms. Most of the people in this area depend on agriculture. The pains of farmers in this area, known for the sale of amliso, yam, sugarcane, ginger, turmeric, bamboo products, and the production of nuts, are always the same.
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The candidates from Palpa-1 for the House of Representatives elections to be held on Falgun 21 are currently busy meeting voters, going door-to-door, and holding regional and municipal meetings. Voters say that the election atmosphere has also been created as soon as the candidates arrive in their villages.
UML, which has been winning in Palpa-1 for 31 years, seems to be trying to save the area this time too. Congress, NCP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are also trying to lure voters to destroy the legacy of UML.
Dev Bahadur Thapa of Nisdi-7 said that despite being a public representative of UML for three decades, Palpa-1 has lagged behind in development and construction. He said that the area is also weak in education, health and physical infrastructure. ‘Despite the budget, the work has not been done properly,’ he said, ‘as planned, it is stagnant. If anyone speaks up, Aringal scolds him like a hawk.’ He said that the Kem Khamcha road connecting Bankamlang to Jyamire has been stalled due to lack of budget.
The work on the road connecting Jhyalbas via Darchha, Kirtipur, Panthe and Sahalkot from Kaligandaki Corridor has also not progressed. The road from Beldanda, the border of Rampur Municipality, to Arunkhola in Nawalpur (East Nawalparasi) is incomplete. Most of the wards of Mathagadhi and Nisdi Rural Municipality are geographically remote. Although the statistics look good, the situation is different in reality, said Jeevan Thapa of Nisdi-7. According to him, the condition of the road connecting Rampur to Mityal-Arunkhola is critical. There are dozens of settlements where vehicles cannot reach the village during the rainy season. Even the road connecting Nisdi Rural Municipality has not been upgraded yet. Although there are slopes in some places under the municipality, most of the roads are unpaved. They produce amli, ginger, bamboo materials, turmeric, and nuts, but they always have to rely on middlemen.
The problems of the people are centered around their homes and farms. Most of the people in this area depend on agriculture. Nisdi Rural Municipality is known for selling amliso, yam, sugarcane, ginger, turmeric, bamboo products, and producing nuts. The pain of farmers in this area is always the same. Despite spending crores of rupees on auxiliary and branch roads in this area, the main road is abandoned. Aryabhanjyang-Jabgadi-Rampur is the main road. The condition of Humin-Purvakhola, Humin-Bahadurpur roads has not improved yet.
Some roads that have started upgrading have not been completed. Most of the plans are like abandoned. There are no large central plans. Rampur Municipality Mayor Raman Bahadur Thapa claims that Rampur Municipality has progressed in development compared to other municipalities. Road access roads in Rambha, Nisdi, Mathagadhi, and Purvakhola rural municipalities have not been completed for years. As elections approach in this area, many plans become election slogans. But voters complain that it is rarely fulfilled.
‘In the previous elections, there was competition between UML and Congress,’ said Sher Bahadur Rana, a voter from Rampur Municipality-9. ‘This time, I have also seen competition from the National Independent Party.’
Along with the registration of nominations, all parties and independent candidates including Congress, UML, NCP, RSVP are holding voter meetings, regional and municipal level gatherings to turn the election results in their favor. Since 2048, no party except UML has won an election in this region. Shiva Pokharel, an alert voter from Rampur, said that many are predicting a competition between Congress and UML. According to him, this time, the RSVP is expected to get the votes of both parties. ‘Nothing can be said right now,’ he said, ‘but keep in mind that this time there will be a three-way competition.’
In the 2079 House of Representatives election, UML candidate Narayan Prasad Acharya won from this constituency with a wide margin, securing 31,103 votes. His nearest competitor, Gyan Bahadur Gaha of the Nepali Congress, secured 20,256 votes. In the previous election, independent candidate Bipin Kandel secured 2,863 votes. Thamman Bahadur Budha Magar of the Mongol National Organization also secured 1,916 votes.
In this election, the UML has fielded Acharya again. He had previously won and was elected as a member of the Lumbini Provincial Assembly from Palpa-1 (2) in the 2074 provincial assembly election. This time, the Nepali Congress has fielded social worker Sandeep Rana as its candidate. Rana of the Nepali Congress is a Lumbini provincial member, a Mahasamiti member and the president of the International BP Chintan Pratishthan. Congress Rampur City President Netra Prasad Bhattarai claimed that Rana, who has been actively involved in politics by staying close to the youth of the rural areas, is a candidate who can challenge the strong hold of UML in Palpa-1.
There are 98,383 voters in Palpa-1 in this election. There are 52 polling stations in this area. There are 117 polling stations. UML has been maintaining its legacy in this area since 2051. Dal Bahadur Rana won in 2051, Bhadra Bahadur Thapa in 2056, and Dal Bahadur Rana won again in the 2064 Constituent Assembly election. Kaluram Rana Magar was elected from the Congress in 2048. At that time, Dal Bahadur was a competitor with Rana. In the subsequent 2070 Constituent Assembly election, UML's Radhakrishna Kandel was elected from this area. This is the area where Rana won again from UML in the 2074 election. Dal Bahadur has withdrawn from active politics after being elected thrice in his fifth term. But Kandel and Rana have also participated in regional and municipal level meetings and urged their candidates to win. The UML regional committee has stated that the meetings of Mathagadhi, Nisdi, Rambha, Purbakhola, Nisdi, and Rampur municipalities have ended. 'They have trusted UML since yesterday,' said UML's Acharya, 'voters have understood well that UML is a friend in happiness and sorrow in the future as well.' Bimal Pant, a candidate from the National Independent Party, said that he was excited when he reached out to voters in the villages. He said that in the past, voters complained that no matter who they voted for, nothing much happened. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Rastriya Janamorcha are also busy meeting voters. Hum Bahadur Sunari, a central member of the Magar Mukti Morcha, is the candidate from the Nepali Communist Party in this area. Brihaspati Aryal from RPP, Narmati Sinjali from Rastriya Janamorcha, Thaman Singh Reshmi Magar from National Republic Nepal, Salan Chidi Magar from Mongol National Organization, and Puran Gaihre Sharma from Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) are candidates. Koshal Aryal, Dilliraj Kafle, Buddha Bahadur Birkatta, and Bachha Dali Miya are in the fray as independents.
