Madhes hold, candidate pick ‘key to NC poll win’

KATHMANDU, AUG 26 -
Chances of the Nepali Congress emerging as the largest party of the Constituent Assembly (CA) election will hinge on the party’s ability to maintain its hold in the Madhes and the s election of right candidates, according to the party’s preliminary election assessment.

A majority of NC leaders believe that the party had lost the 2008 CA election mainly because of the two factors that remain headache for the party leadership in the coming election . The party made such an assessment based on the reports submitted by the leaders who were deployed in 75 districts to evaluate party’s standing in various constituencies.

The leaders have also suggested the party leadership to launch a special campaign in the Madhes with new vision and programmes to address the aspirations of Madhesi people. “Our plan to emerge as the largest party will depend on how we enhance our position in the Madhes. We have suggested the party leadership to work seriously to garner support of Madhesi people which is our traditional vote bank,” said NC leader Prakash Saran Mahat.

Nevertheless, senior leaders from the Madhes complained that the leadership was not paying enough attention to strengthen its position in the region. The party’s Madhes Department had recently proposed holding a Madhes conference but the proposal was turned down by NC President Sushil Koirala who asked the leaders to focus on assigned responsibilities. “I had proposed holding such a conference but Sushilda rejected the proposal. He also did not entertain the idea of bringing in some influential local leaders in the Madhes,” said NC Madhes Department chief Uma Kanta Chaudhary.

Another pressing challenge facing the NC is the s election of right candidates for the polls. With a high number of aspirants, the party is having difficulty in selecting the candidates. If the party leadership fails to manage the internal rifts, there will be a higher possibility of proxy candidates.

During the party’s Mahasamiti meet in April, party cadres had said that proper candidate s election holds a key to party’s victory in the election . “The NC will emerge as the largest party if we immediately come up with a concrete plan to address the intra-party rift and s election issue,” said NC party office secretary Chinkaji Shrestha, who is analysing the reports submitted by the leaders.

Observers say the candidate s election is a major challenge for the NC in the coming election . The party has recently directed the district wings to recommend three names for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) election and five for the proportional representation (PR) system. The total number of recommended candidates will be 1,920, out of which 240 will be selected for the FPTP and around 100 for the PR system.

“So chances of being the largest party in the CA will depend on how the NC manages the reaction of leaders who will not be selected as candidates,” said political commentator Puranjan Acharya.

Leaders deployed in the districts have submitted reports suggesting that party’s position has significantly improved and that the party will fare well in the upcoming election . On April 26, the NC  had deployed its leaders to all 240 constituenties to assess the party’s position there. Other challenges, according to NC leaders, are how the party will come clear on the issue of federalism mainly about addressing the demands of Janajati leaders.

The leaders said the party needs to prepare “a revolutionary” agenda to impress the voters in the hills and Madhes. The NC has the challenge of keeping the Janajati constituencies intact in the hills, and bringing out a new policy in the Madhes to counter Madhes-based parties and the UCPN (Maoist).

“There is a leadership crisis in the Madhes. The party has failed to re-brand itself by not advocating federalism and inclusion, among others,” said analyst Dipendra Jha, adding that the party would fare well only if it improves on those fronts.

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