Nepali Congress (NC) and UML have fielded big guns for the federal election from Kathmandu-5 as they had done in the second Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2013. Co-convenor of Bibeksheel Sajha Party Ujjwal Thapa is also contesting in the same constituency.
NC leader Narahari Acharya, who won in both the CA elections from the constituency, has not contested this time due to health reasons. NC has fielded former foreign minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat as a result. The left alliance of UML and CPN (Maoist Center) has fielded UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel who had lost to Acharya in both the CA elections.
The constituency has seen quite a tight race in the past with Pokharel losing to Acharya by just around 1,000 votes in the second CA election. UML had received the largest number of votes (16,895) at the ward level in the constituency in the recent local election. The total vote count of the left alliance reaches 20,179 adding the 3,284 votes received by Maoist Center. The total is almost 3,000 higher than the total of 17,306—sum of the votes of NC (15,434) and its alliance RPP (1,872).
Mahat will have to attract around 1,500 votes that the left alliance received in the local election while retaining the NC votes. We talked with almost 100 voters in Budhanilkantha, Tokha, Dhapasi, Maharajgunj, Baluwatar, Chapali, Hattigaunda and Tasikot in the constituency to try to find if Mahat can do that.
Acharya did not win the last two elections due to NC votes alone. He also received votes for his personality and being a local. Mahat will face a huge challenge to get the votes that Acharya had secured. Many voters, who had voted for Acharya in the second CA election, told us that they will vote for Pokharel this time.
Thirty-six of the 97 voters we talked to said they will vote for UML while 25 said NC. Eight of those 36 said they will vote for UML for the first time while all but one of the voters who said they will vote for NC had voted for NC in the second CA election. The only one additional voter had voted for RPP.
A whopping 51 of the 97 voters we talked to had voted for NC in the second CA election, and just 25 of them said they will again vote for the party. Some of the remaining 26 said they will vote for other parties, including eight for UML, while the rest are undecided.
"We rejected Pokharel twice. We did not vote for him also to elect Narahari Acharya. I don't even recognize the NC candidate for this election. He is apparently from outside. I had never voted on anything other than tree until now. I will vote for Pokharel this time," Jeevan Basyal of Chandol said.
Pokharel is also not a local but he has contested from the constituency twice and looks stronger here with some traditional NC voters deciding for sun this time. Fifteen of the voters who had voted for NC in the second CA election have yet to decide.
"I had earlier voted for Acharya. There is a confusion as to who I should vote for this time. I have not been able to decide," a voter found in Baluwatar said requesting anonymity.
A Shrestha man we spoke to at Chandeshwori, Tokha also said he is undecided. "I had voted for NC earlier. I don't know who I should vote for. NC has not fielded a local. I don't know what will happen," the voter said.
Traditional UML voters seemed more assured than the NC ones. We found just three who said they had voted for UML earlier but are undecided now.
Ten voters refused to say who they will vote for. Some of them said they will not vote for anyone. Hari Maya Shrestha of Budhanilkantha-3 said she will sleep basking in the sun on the election day.
"I had gone to Chunikhel a few days ago. The road was very good there. One would like to vote if they were to do such good works. What kind of leaders we have in our constituency! Look at the road in front of this shop. It is in such a bad state. And then there is the water problem. They make promises and join their hands to ask for votes and then disappear. I will not vote this time. I will sleep basking in the sun on the election day," she elaborated.
New party, Bibeksheel Sajha, has also fielded co-convenor Thapa from the constituency. He had also contested the second CA election with dog as the election symbol.
Just eight of the voters we talked to said they will vote for Thapa. The voters who feel the old parties did not do any good and are willing to try the new one will vote for him.
Krishna Dangol of Hattigaunda had voted for NC in the second CA election but has already decided to vote for Thapa this time. "Look, we always voted for the old parties like NC. They didn't do anything for our benefit. The leaders are all old. I feel the new party will do something for the youths and bring in development. I will, therefore, vote for Bibeksheel Sajha," he reasoned.
Four of the eight voters who said they will vote for Bibeksheel Sajha had voted earlier for NC. Just two had voted for UML. A RPP voter said he will vote for Bibeksheel Sajha this time as his party has not fielded a candidate. The votes of RPP, in this manner, look more likely to go to Bibeksheel Sajha than ally NC. A first-time voter we talked to also said he will voter for Bibeksheel Sajha.
Twice-defeated Pokharel looks stronger than Mahat, who will struggle to even retain the traditional NC votes, also due to sympathy of voters toward him. The wind definitely seems to be blowing in favor of Pokharel.
