Somlal Darai's son Vikram, 72, of Daraigaun Khadgauli, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-23, died in Egypt last year in the course of employment. Since then, one thing has been playing over and over in Somlal's mind - if he had found work in his own country, would his son not have died, would he not have lost his old age support?

After the death of his earning son, Somlal's family is in extreme financial crisis. He is going through a situation where he does not know what to eat in the morning and evening, and gets angry when he hears the candidates for the House of Representatives election promising employment. 'My son who went to Egypt to find work on a loan passed away there. We will provide employment. How can I believe that we will provide employment now?' he said while grazing sheep and goats.

The election has not added any enthusiasm to Bishnu Darai, who is storing ripe mustard in her garden in Khadgauli village. She is not in a position to believe the candidate who comes with assurances. ‘We are farmers. The question is whether the economic condition of the farmers has improved or not,’ she said. ‘The condition of the farmers has not improved.’

There are about 300 households of the Darai community in Darai village. During the Darai village elections in Khadgauli, sweet assurances are made. Hopes are built. Votes are sought. Bindu Darai, a ward member of Bharatpur-23, said that no concrete program has been taken forward for the development of this community, which has been struggling with economic and social problems for a long time. ‘During elections, more things happen for our benefit. At other times, it is neglected,’ she said. ‘As a ward member, I am working with the Darai youth and women as a priority. But it didn't turn out as expected.'

Dhankumari Karki's son from Bharatpur-22 Patihani Town paid eight lakhs to a broker to go abroad for work. But, the money went down, he couldn't go for employment. He has now reached India in search of work. 'My son has gone to India to repay the loan. If he had found work here, he wouldn't have lost eight lakhs,' she lamented, 'What kind of Nepal is this where you can't get work, you can't be cheated outright?'

714 families in Hanumanjhula are without land documents

Bandarjhula settlement, currently called Hanumanjhula, located in the eastern south corner of Madi, is one such place where no one living there has any land documents. According to local Mohan Syangtan, 714 families live here.

^{Mosaic tiles being laid on Bharatpur Madi Thori road near the Vankatta post in Chitwan National Park. The issue of this road through the forest of the park is an election issue in every election. Photo: Ramesh Kumar Poudel/Kantipur}

After walking 15 kilometers through the forest from Madi to East Bagai, you come to Thori Chautara in Parsa. After cutting through the forest three kilometers west of Chautara, you come to this remote settlement of Chitwan. Landless people from various places have started living here since 2047 BS. However, after the Chitwan National Park declared it an encroached settlement, no one has a land title deed. When the crisis began in 2058 BS, the park had removed the entire settlement. After that, they started living there again. When elections come, the leaders always reach Bandarjhula. Everyone brings up the issue of land title deed. ‘Now I am starting to get tired of hearing this,’ said Syangtan.

This time, candidates from Congress, UML, and NCP have reached Bandarjhula. Apart from the talk of organizing the unorganized settlements, Syangtan said that he has not heard any concrete talk about Lalpurja. There is no good road in the village. There is no electricity. There is a problem with drinking water. When will these problems be solved? Syangtan says that the locals are disappointed that the issue was not resolved even though it was raised in the elections. With the decrease in the number of households, there are now only five and a half hundred families living here. There are more than eight hundred voters.

There are about 15,000 landless and squatters in Chitwan-3. There are 10,029 Dalits, landless, squatters, and unorganized residents in Bharatpur and 5,456 in Madi Municipality. Among them, land ownership certificates (Lalpurja) were distributed to 129 landless Dalit and squatter households in Bharatpur metropolis.

The problem of river erosion and inundation is also similar in this area. In Pandavnagar village in Madi Municipality-1, which is located on the banks of Kholaikhola and Chitwan National Park, the pain caused by wild animals and floods is deep. Pandavnagar and the surrounding villages of Wanakatta and Dropatinagar are the residential areas of the indigenous Bote community.

A school for classes one to five in Pandavnagar was established in 2044 BS. There was Riu Khola nearby. There was a risk that the Riu Khola, which had been eroding every year, would affect the school. That is why, after buying land and moving the school to a safer place in 2052 BS, the number of students has been decreasing, said Principal Tul Bahadur Nepali.

According to local Baburam Nepali, Kshetri/Bahun used to live in Ratanpur village. ‘There was a fear of floods from the Deuta Khola Marod Khola coming from Someshwor. The Riu Khola flowing on the border of the park came towards the settlement with even more water and erosion. The tigers, bears and rhinos were already being harassed, and the suffering of wild elephants also increased,’ said Baburam.

In the winter of 2069 BS, the elephant ‘Dhruve’ had caused a lot of trouble. Dhruve killed an elderly couple in Draupadinagar in Mangsir 2069 BS. Dhruve had killed four people from the villages around Pandavnagar in a period of one and a half months at that time. The locals, who have been living in fear of floods and other wild animals, find it difficult to bear the fear of elephants. ‘Where else can we go if we don’t stay here? There are houses and land elsewhere.’ Ratanpur is empty,' Baburam said.

Similarly, Madi, which is surrounded by problems, is always in the news during elections. This time too, candidates have started their election campaign by prioritizing Madi. Candidates from UML, NCP, and RSVP have reached Madi. Ratanpur's land, which used to have good soil for farming, is barren today. Baburam says that many villages in this area will be protected from floods and wildlife by building strong dams on the Riu and other rivers. The construction of the Riu corridor with an embankment is also included in the Madi municipality's program.

^{Baruba Bazaar Madi. Photo: Ramesh Kumar Poudel/Kantipur}

Even though it is 80 kilometers away from the district headquarters, candidates reach Bandarjhula in the election. Even now, Shankar Thapaliya of UML and Renu Dahal of NCP have reached Bandarjhula. Other candidates are also planning to cross the river. While the candidates were starting their door-to-door campaign in Madi, Ashok Bhattarai of Madi-1 died after being mauled by a rhinoceros on Magh 2.

Similarly, blood, a knife and a cap were found in the forest while searching for Bhanu Botek of Madi-1, who had not been in contact with his family since Magh 2. It is suspected that Bhanu was attacked by a tiger with these items found three to four kilometers from the village. However, his other condition has not been ascertained.

There are statistics that five to 25 people die every year due to wild animal attacks around Chitwan National Park alone. Madi region is the most affected by this problem.
Chitwan National Park touches four districts including Chitwan. Chitwan, which has three constituencies, also touches the park in constituencies 1 and 3. Candidates say that they kept in mind the problems like wildlife encroachment, river erosion and others during the elections. After the elections, everyone forgets.

What do the candidates say?

This time too, Congress, UML, NCP, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are the main competitors in Chitwan-3. Renu Dahal has resigned from the post of mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and has become the candidate from NCP in Chitwan-3. She said that the plans she started when she was mayor have brought great relief to the residents of the constituency.

‘After becoming mayor, I had drawn a development blueprint and taken forward infrastructure development works.’ Now most of those works are in the implementation phase. The biggest challenge in Bharatpur was road connectivity. Yesterday, during the election campaign, I had to walk in dust,’ she said. ‘It was difficult to reach my constituency Bharatpur.’ We have blacktopped about 175 kilometers of roads to improve this situation. She mentioned that in addition to roads, a master plan has been launched to improve agriculture, including subsidies for dairy farmers, modern machines, taps in every household, embankments to stop river erosion, and an international cricket field.

Renu says that Bharatpur has laid the foundation for good governance in the latest audit report as it is the least corrupt among the metropolitan cities. 'The General Accounts Report has already said what has happened for good governance in Bharatpur,' she said.

Sobita Gautam, a candidate of the National Independent Party (NISP), who won from Kathmandu-2 in the 2079 elections, has this time become a candidate from Chitwan-3. She says that she has prioritized solving problems arising from land, parks, and farmers' problems. 'Land-related problems are also among the most serious issues. Another reason is that development is hampered due to the fact that it is connected to forests and national parks. There are issues of that conflict between wildlife and humans,’ she said.

^{Baghauda Madi. Photo: Ramesh Kumar Poudel/Kantipur}

In the 2074 and 2079 elections, both these parties did not have candidates in Chitwan-3. In 2074, due to the Left-Left alliance, UML supported the then Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. At that time, Congress supported Bikram Pandey of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). In 2079, an electoral alliance was formed between Congress and the then Maoist Center. Congress did not field a candidate, supporting the Maoist candidate Dr. Bhojraj Adhikari. UML had fielded the then district chairman Ram Prasad Neupane as its candidate. Later, it withdrew and supported the then Congress central member Dinesh Koirala, who stood as an independent. However, Bikram Pandey of the RPP, who contested the election alone, won. This time too, Pandey was in the news, but he backed out on the day of nomination registration. 

The RPP has fielded Bharatpur Metropolitan Committee Chairman Deepak Thapa Magar as its candidate.  ‘I have been involved in politics for a long time.  I am active not only in politics but also in social sectors like the Red Cross, the Madhyaprastha Committee, and schools,’ said Thapa Magar.  He claims that the central policy of the RPP is a constitutional monarchy and a Hindu state, and that public opinion is in favor of it. 

The Congress has fielded Tek Prasad Gurung as its candidate in Chitwan-3.  He is an old political figure in the district.  77-year-old Gurung became the ward chairman in 2026 BS.  ‘I have old experience.  I understand the aspirations of the new generation.  Since I am active in politics, I hope to get the votes of everyone, young and old,’ said Gurung. 

UML candidate Shankar Raj Thapaliya says that his supporters and well-wishers are excited.  56-year-old Thapaliya is a resident of Bharatpur Pahitani area. He has been involved in politics since 2043 BS. He says that he is aware of the problems of the district and knows the method to solve them.

In the 2079 BS elections, the RSVP got 28,401 votes, the RPP got 16,755 votes, the Maoists got 16,090 votes, the UML got 14,522 votes and the Congress got 10,524 proportional votes.

Vote for those who work: Renu Dahal, NCP candidate

NCP candidate Renu Dahal has started her election campaign with the slogan 'Vote for those who work this time'. 'The main agenda is the continuity of the work done when he was the mayor, prosperity and the determination to make Chitwan district a central and model city of the country.' I will base my concept on making Bharatpur a model city and a smart city in the country,' she said, 'I have laid a strong foundation in Bharatpur in nine years, and now I plan to continue and complete it. The goal is to make Chitwan a center of economic development, a business hub, a central city with facilities for education, sports, agriculture, tourism and health.' She said that it is time to evaluate based on work when candidates from old and new parties are competing in this election.

She said that the people of Chitwan should do justice by winning her. She said, 'The people of Chitwan-3 should do justice. Politics is a service. There is no reason to be disappointed with Renu Dahal.'
She told her that the accusation that development in Bharatpur metropolis was due to the daughter of the NCP coordinator Dahal was wrong. 'I have been in politics for 30 years. I reject the idea that work was done because of my father,' she said.

मतदाता यसपटक मत परिवर्तन गर्ने पक्षमा देख्छु : सोबिता गौतम, रास्वपा उम्मेदवार