CPN-UML leader Gokul Baskota has claimed that the party will win the by-election in Chitwan-2 with the party voters who had voted for Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane returning back to the party.
UML’s Krishna Bhakta Pokharel had won the constituency in 2013 and 2017 but Lamichhane won a landslide victory in the election held in November 2022.
The seat is currently vacant after the Supreme Court ruled Lamichhane ineligible to become lawmaker as he did not complete the process to re-acquire his citizenship certificate that became invalid after he acquired US citizenship.
Lamichhane has already reacquired citizenship from the Kathmandu District Administration Office while the Office of the Attorney General decided to not lodge a case against him in the passport controversy. He is contesting the by-election in the vacant constituency to be held on April 23.
Baskota, who is in Chitwan for around one month as commander of UML’s mission grassroots campaign, has said that the people have seen the greed for power of RSP and how the newly formed party clung to the government on different pretexts and added that the voters will return back to UML this time.
“Why by-election has to be held within five months of election? Who is to blame for that? Who lied to whom and why? Let’s raise the question of morality. Was that right?” he has stated. “Questions have been raised as to whether he has given other false details to the people.”
He has stressed that new force cannot rise overnight and that cannot happen merely due to frustrations, whims, and anger of a few persons. “What changes have the new ones who came promising change brought about?”
He has claimed that UML will prevail in a three-horse race with Lamichhane and Nepali Congress (NC), that has fielded Jeet Narayan Shrestha, pointing how its student wing performed in the district in the recently held free students’ union election.
“We have found why we lost the last time and what our weaknesses were. Treatment for that continues now,” he has stated. “We are working on instilling further enthusiasm in the cadres and convincing the voters. I fully believe big changes have happened. Final touches remain to be given.”
He has claimed that the votes of UML and NC that went to RSP will return back to the respective parties this time. “Some went there due to anger, some due to greed and others to see miracle. They now know nothing like that happens. They also understood that RSP got involved in the game for power. It is already known that no one is God and everyone is human.”
