Delhi hails poll success
NEW DELHI, DEC 18 -
Congratulating Nepali people for the high voter turnout in the elections last month, senior Indian officials here have expressed hope that the successful election to the new Constituent Assembly will now make way for an early constitution and put an end to Nepal’s protracted political transition. A stable and prosperous Nepal would be in India’s interest, they said.
“[Nepali] people are very determined and they want the result,” said Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid at an interaction with visiting Nepali editors of over a dozen newspapers. “When people are determined we have to listen to them.”
He, however, restrained himself from voicing India’s preference for any political party or political ideology. “We are friends with people of Nepal, not any particular party or a leader.” He also stayed clear from taking a position on what model of federalism and what kind of constitution should Nepal adopt but urged Nepali actors to ensure that “maximum number of Nepali feel included in the political process.”
At a time when parties are still to decide on the PR and Cabinet nominees, Khurshid suggested that the parties would do well to include important political leaders who are currently outside the CA—either through the PR or Cabinet nomination.
A day later on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh echoed similar sentiments, hailing the successful completion of the CA election as “an extremely important step” which has provided fresh hope in realising democratic, inclusive and prosperous Nepal.
She congratulated political parties, the Election Commission and the security forces for the success of the election. She added that early promulgation of the constitution would contribute to peace and prosperity in Nepal. She urged all parties to respect the outcome of the election.
New Delhi views that the CA elections have been free and fair. It wants UCPN (Maoist) to accept the poll result so that the CA process gets started as early possible. It also wants the two major parties in the new CA, the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, to work closely with UCPN (Maoist), Madhesi and Janajati parties. Analysts here say New Delhi wants to see the NC and UML reach out to CPN-Maoist to ensure an inclusive constitution and a lasting peace. Though fared comparatively poor in this election, UCPN(Maoist) still received substantial number of votes, a fact other political parties will do well to not, they said. “It would be a mistake to ignore them,” said Ashok Behuria, a research fellow at with Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. “Even Mohan Baidya needs to be mainstreamed. Democracy is nothing but mainstreaming individuals and parties that aren’t in the mainstream.”
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