The candidacies of former journalist Santosh Rajbanshi from Biratnagar and former minister and journalist from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Biratnagar, along with Congress General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire, former minister and NCP leader Aman Lal Modi, and former UML provincial minister Jeevan Ghimire, are likely to make the election more interesting.
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This time in Morang-4, the heavyweights of the old parties will have to face the challenge of the candidates of the new party.
Nepali Congress General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire, former minister and NCP leader Aman Lal Modi and former UML provincial minister Jeevan Ghimire are in the competition. These leaders 'cooperated' in the previous two elections. However, this time they are facing each other. This has made the competition interesting.
Ghimire, who was politically absent for some time after losing the previous provincial assembly elections and the party's provincial convention, has made a comeback after the Gen-G movement. He returned to an influential role in party politics after becoming the general secretary at the recently concluded special general convention of the Congress. Now this election is not only an opportunity for him to institutionalize his political comeback, but also an opportunity to challenge the established leaders of the old parties.
Ghimire had supported Modi when the Congress-Maoist alliance was formed in the 2079 House of Representatives elections. Modi won and reached the House of Representatives. He became a minister. Ghimire was defeated from Morang 4 (1) of the Provincial Assembly. This time the atmosphere is different. There is no coordination with the Maoists, nor with the UML. Ghimire has entered the field on his own, which has indicated a triangular competition among heavyweight leaders.
Ghimire, who came to the mainstream from student politics, is a leader who has been detained several times during political movements. The expansion of the organization and activism within the party have identified him as one of the influential leaders of the new generation of the Nepali Congress. Based on this identity, he is trying to give a message of a new alternative against the established leaders.
Morang-4 is a Tharu-dominated area with 119,255 voters. All wards of Gramthan and Katahari rural municipality and 23 wards including 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 19 of Biratnagar and 5, 6, 7 of Belbari fall under this area. There are 61,192 male, 58,062 female and 1 other voter here. 40 polling stations and 131 polling stations have been designated for voting.
The results of the 2079 local level elections have shown the strength of the UML organization in this area. Out of 23 wards, UML won 18, Congress 3 and Maoist Center 1 ward. However, the election of Maoist Center's Namo Narayan Majhi as the Gramthan Rural Municipality Chairman last November seems to be decisive and the competition outside the alliance may also be decisive.
This time, the candidacy of former journalist Santosh Rajbanshi from the National Independent Party seems to make the election more interesting. Rajbanshi's entry into the clash between the heavyweights of the traditional parties is being analyzed as increasing the possibility of vote splitting. In the previous election, Netra Prasad Shiwakoti of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party had secured 5,333 votes.
‘There is a possibility that the leadership of this area, which was previously considered a UML and now a Maoist stronghold, may change this time,’ says local voter Rampreet Mandal, ‘Voters are looking for a new face this time.’
