Sarlahi-4 is in the news with the candidacy of Congress President Gagan Thapa. The entire party is trying to win him. President Thapa himself has already called on those who left the party in the past to 'return home'. The most impact of this is seen in Sarlahi-4, where he contested the election.

When he left the Congress in 2064 and formed the Tarai Madhesh Democratic Party, a large number of Congress leaders and cadres went to Madhesh with Mahant Thakur. Thakur contested five elections from this constituency from 2048 to 2070. He was a candidate from the Congress in the parliamentary elections of 2048, 2051 and 2056 and from the Constituent Assembly elections of 2064 and 2070 from the Tamalopa.

Before Thakur formed a separate party, Tamalopa, there was competition between the Congress, RPP, Nepal Sadbhavana Party, and Samyukta Janamorcha in this constituency. The competitive forces changed from the 2064 elections. After that, the competition between the Congress and the Thakur-led Tamalopa and Shivpujan Yadav started in terms of parties. Yadav has been fielding himself or his family members from different parties in every election.

Sarlahi 4: Election agitation in the 'epicenter' of Madhesh

In 2064, Yadav, who was a candidate from Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Nepal, won the election by defeating Thakur. Yadav got 15,688 votes while Thakur got 15,416 votes. Thakur was defeated by a margin of 272 votes. Thakur, who had won three consecutive elections while in the Congress, was defeated. Congress candidate Amresh Kumar Singh came third. At that time, he got 11,971 votes. In the second Constituent Assembly election in 2070, there was a competition between these three. Singh won. Yadav came in second and Thakur came in third.

In the 2074 election, Thakur left Sarlahi. He won the election from Mahottari and reached the parliament. Rakesh filed his candidacy in Sarlahi-4 in place of Thakur. He was the candidate from the Thakur-led RJP. At that time, there was a competition between Singh, Mishra and Yadav. However, at the last moment, Yadav's candidacy was rejected by the Supreme Court order because the charges of misuse of diplomatic passport were proven. The competition became two-sided. Singh got 29,675 votes, while Mishra got 28,136 votes. Tej Narayan Yadav of the Nepali Janata Dal, who came in third, got 468 votes.

In 2079, there was a three-sided competition again, between Singh, Yadav and the Congress. Singh filed his candidacy as an independent candidate after not getting a Congress ticket. Yadav was not able to contest as he was found guilty in the passport case. The Maoists, to which he belonged, had formed an alliance with the Congress. The Thakur-led LSP was also in the same alliance. Yadav ignored the alliance and fielded his daughter Madhumala Kumari Yadav as an independent candidate. Nagendra Kumar Rai was the candidate from the Congress. There was no candidacy from the Thakur leadership. The votes were divided into three parts.

According to the alliance, the Congress candidate should have received the votes of the LSP. However, since there was no party candidate, Singh, Yadav and Rai all received the votes of the LSP. In terms of caste, the largest number of voters in this area belongs to the Yadav community. The votes of this community, apart from the party votes, were divided between the Congress candidates Nagendra Kumar and Madhumala. Singh got a large share of the votes of the others besides Yadav. That made it easy for him to win. Congress candidate Roy was new to the area. Despite the alliance, it was not strong. On top of that, there was another candidate of his own caste in the competition.

Despite that adversity, Congress's Roy had garnered good votes. He was defeated by a margin of 1,764 votes. 'There is a lot of difference between the situation then and now. The entire party is united. Moreover, almost all the leaders and workers associated with Mahant Thakurji and carrying his legacy have joined us,' said Congress worker Ajit Kumar Singh. 'The Congress has become stronger.' He also claimed that President Thapa would win with a good margin.

Singh said that leaders and workers from JSP, UML, Maoists and Janmat Party have also joined the Congress. He says that dozens of influential people including JSP leaders Kedar Nandan Chaudhary, Manish Mishra, Kedar Singh, Abhay Singh, Sushil Mishra have joined the Congress. Similarly, Kamleshwar Sinha to Rabinandan Chaudhary, who supported Amresh Singh when he was an independent candidate last time, have left his side.

Congress leader Upendra Kushwaha says that the number of people supporting, returning to the party and joining the party has increased with the arrival of the party president in Sarlahi. 'Voters' attraction towards the Congress has increased. Moreover, voters are excited after the Prime Minister's proposed person is a candidate from the constituency,' he told Kantipur, 'The party has entered the election unitedly. Friends from other parties are also joining us every day.'

Like the previous elections, this time too, a three-way competition is seen here. Former Constituent Assembly member Shivpujan has fielded his son Amanish Kumar Yadav on the UML ticket this time. In all the elections since 2064, he has fielded candidates on different symbols, whether he himself or his family has fielded him. Rameshwar Rai Yadav is the candidate from JSP and Rajnish Rai is the candidate from NCP.

Sarlahi-4 has the largest number of voters, around 27,000, from the Yadav community. It is considered the main 'vote bank' of all three candidates. If the votes are distributed well among the three, it is estimated that UML candidate Amanish, who is currently in the race, may fall behind. Similarly, his grip on the Dalit vote also seems to have loosened. RSP candidate Amresh Kumar Singh claims that that vote has 'shifted' to the RSP. There is no RSP organization in this area. There are no influential people from other parties involved. However, Singh says that the change has taken root in the minds of the people.

‘Madhesh’s son Balen is becoming the Prime Minister. The Madhesi people have seen this,’ he said, ‘Wherever you go, voters are open in favor of Ghanti and Balen.’ He says that the main basis of his victory is the change desired by the people and the public wave seen towards the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He claimed that the number of people who have joined the Congress has benefited him. ‘Leaders who have no votes have gone there,’ he said, ‘The general voters are in favor of Ghanti.’

Former MP Yadav, who has always been involved in local politics by supporting different parties, has claimed that his son Amanish will win. ‘My family and I live in the village. We are with the citizens of this place in every happiness and sorrow,’ he says, ‘The people have understood that.’ My son is getting the votes of the poor, Dalits, and all those who are oppressed by power.' He claims that wherever he goes, he will get 12 to 14 thousand votes. On top of that, the organizational votes of UML will be added, and the votes of the youth will be added because Gen-G has been made a candidate in line with the spirit of the Gen-G movement. He claims that since the voting is held the day after Holi, a large number of youth from the country and abroad will return home, saying that the Gen-G candidate will get the votes of the youth.

A kind of silent public opinion is also in Thapa's favor, saying that this area has gained notoriety for the last 18 years due to the political confrontation between Singh and Yadav. Such voters have not emerged. However, they seem worried about the decline in the prestige of the area, which was maintained until Mahant Thakur won. Jitendra Singh, a former teacher of Sarlahi-4 Balra, says that no one will win the election here just on the basis of party ideology or the wave of a particular party. He said that this area has been backward since the past due to its distance from the district headquarters Malangwa or the East-West Highway.

He mentioned that the people of the area are looking for employment along with development, farmers are looking for easy access to the market for their produce at reasonable prices, irrigation facilities, availability of seeds and fertilizers. Farmers in some villages are always suffering due to lack of irrigation in the dry season and floods in the rainy season. He said that the locality is in search of a leadership that can save them from that. Apart from that, he said that voters cast their votes considering many aspects such as proximity to the candidate, ethnicity, personal security, and support for personal needs. There are many people here in government service, and a large number of people are also employed in the private sector. There are many educated unemployed youth. Similarly, the number of people who have gone for foreign employment is also significant.