NC, UML feel campaign heat

KATHMANDU, NOV 04 -

Worried about possible obstructions a few days after Tihar and “relative immobility” of their top leaders, election candidates of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML have urged their party leadership to tour the districts immediately after the festival.

The parties felt a sense of urgency as plans for poll campaigns in some districts scheduled for a later period clashed with a general strike called by the poll-opposing CPN-Maoist. The Mohan Baidya-led party has called a 10-day Nepal banda beginning November 11 to foil the November 19 election .

Besides, by the time the NC and UML top brass would start their district tours, the Maoist leaders, who seem to be more mobile, would have already campaigned in more than half the districts.

As of Sunday, the Maoist top guns, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai, completed tours of over 30 districts, while the chiefs of the NC and the UML seem to be busy in their own constituencies. NC President Sushil Koirala has kept himself busy in Banke-3 and Chitwan-4, while UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal is spending more time in Ilam-1, Sarlahi-1.

Some NC and UML leaders have expressed discontent over the “confinement” of their senior party leaders in their pet constituencies and lack of support from them in the overallelection campaign. NC and UML leaders say that in the previouselection , top leaders of their party used to visit places across the country and support their candidates’ campaigns. “This is a time when we need strong support from the party’s top leaders. They should reach out to larger constituencies rather than confine themselves in their own areas,” said an NC candidate in Baglung.

NC leaders in Gorkha told the Post that they have asked NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel to visit the district, but Poudel rejected the idea, saying that he needs to work harder in his own constituency.

NC’s central office is under immense pressure as it has already received several requests from candidates across the country to send senior party leaders to the districts.

As a stopgap measure, the NC has asked its Central Working Committee (CWC) members, who are in the party’s list of PR candidates, to visit the districts. Senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is busy in Dadeldhura and Kailali-4, while Ram Chandra Poudel is busy in his Tanahun-2 constituency.

“We have conveyed this message to our top leaders. They will visit the districts immediately after Tihar,” said NC leader Prakash Saran Mahat.

Senior leaders of the CPN-UML are also busy in their own constituencies. Besides Khanal, senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal is busy in his two constituencies (Rautahat and Kathmandu-2). Khanal won the 2008 election with a low margin, while Nepal had tasted defeat in both his constituencies.

“As per our party’s tradition, senior leaders’ nationwide district campaign comes last,” said CPN-UML secretary Shankar Pokhrel. But as the indefinite general strike called by the CPN-Maoist begins immediately after the Tihar festival, the plan of the two parties is likely to be affected.

Top UCPN (Maoist) leaders are touring the country, while also giving time to their respective constituencies. According to the party, Chairman Dahal has already addressed 45 mass meetings across the country.

Dahal’s mobility, however, comes at a cost. He faced criticism from the Election Commission (EC) and opposition parties for using helicopters in canvassing.