CPN-UML has prioritized those who have jumped ship on the eve of the upcoming local election fielding 20 newcomers for ward chairs out of 31 wards in Birgunj Metropolitan City where the main opposition party is contesting for ward chair.
The party that is fielding Bijay Sarawagi, who was elected mayor from the then Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (now Janata Samajwadi Party) in the last election, as its mayoral candidate is fielding candidates for ward chair in 31 out of the 32 wards in Birgunj.
Habib Miya Netuwa was elected chairman of ward number 21 on a Nepali Congress (NC) ticket but he is seeking reelection on a UML ticket this time.
Gaisuddin Miya, who was elected chair of ward number 22 from the then FSFN, is also contesting on behalf of UML now.
Sushil Kumar Kantha had secured just 128 votes contesting for chair of ward number 3 in the last election. He is also contesting for ward chairman with sun as election symbol. He, however, is representing RPP-Nepal that has forged electoral alliance with UML in this election and will contest with the election symbol of UML. This is the only ward where RPP-Nepal has got to field candidate for chairman.
Newcomers like Sarawagi, who defected from JSP and joined UML only on March 12, are in this manner contesting for many important posts including ward chairs to the chagrin of local UML cadres.
"Those who come with the policy of stepping in and getting ticket will come and go. They will be here today and gone tomorrow," a ward level leader of UML rued.
UML has struggled to implement electoral alliance with Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) at the ward level due to the difficulty in managing the newcomers.
The two parties had agreed to forge electoral alliance in Birgunj with LSP supporting UML's mayoral candidate Sarawagi and UML supporting LSP's candidate for deputy mayor Purushottam Lal Jha.
UML and LSP also had agreed to field candidates for ward chair in 19 and 13 wards respectively.
But UML walked off the alliance at the ward level fearing that the newcomers who have joined the party only recently will leave the party if they do not get the ticket.
"There were so many newcomers in our party that we could not vacate any ward," a UML leader in Birgunj confided with Setopati. "There were fears that leaders who have been ushered in with promise of ticket will leave the party if they don't get to contest the election. We, therefore, could not leave wards to LSP."
UML has left only one ward for LSP and is fielding candidates in 31 wards including the one from RPP-Nepal who is contesting with UML's symbol.
A whopping 20 of those candidates for ward chair are newcomers including those who were elected ward chair on a ticket from a different party in the last election, and those who had finished runner-up or below that.
