Himal Press 
LSP Chairperson Mahantha Thakur (File Photo)
KATHMANDU: Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) has not been able to field candidates in local-level by-elections in Madhesh Province. The party, which has made Madhesh the center of its politics, has failed to nominate candidates even in its core region.
The Election Commission (EC) is holding by-elections in six wards of different local units of Madhesh province. They include Wards 1 and 4 of Saptari’s Dakneshwari Municipality, Ward 1 of Dhanusha’s Dhanushadham Municipality, Ward 2 of Mahottari’s Ramgopalpur Municipality, and Ward 7 of Ishnath Municipality, Ward 6 of Rajpur Municipality and Ward 8 of Gadhimai Municipality of Rautahat.
LSP is currently a ruling coalition partner in both the federal and Madhesh Province governments. It has a minister each in federal and province government. LSP’s senior leader Sharat Singh Bhandari is the Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security in the federal government, while Rani Sharma is the Minister for Education and Culture in the Madhesh Province Government.
The party has four members in the House of Representatives and eight, including one suspended, in the Madhesh Province Assembly.
Mahottari district remains LSP’s stronghold in the Madhesh Province. The electoral constituency of party Chairperson Mahantha Thakur and Minister Bhandari is in the district. Both are directly elected members of the House of Representatives. Four province assembly members, including only from proportionate representation, were elected from Mahottari. Still, the party failed to nominate a candidate in the local body by-polls in the district.
A party official attributed this to administrative errors, specifically stating that the party failed to register with the Election Commission before the by-election. “Our politics is centered in Madhesh, yet we couldn’t field candidates in Madhesh,” the official said. “Registration of the party is a must before every election which we failed to complete this time. This is an inexcusable mistake for a party like ours.”
LSP has remained silent as other Madhesh-based parties like Janamat, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP)-Nepal are busy with election campaigning.
LSP’s Province Committee Chairperson Jitendra Sonal said the party could not field candidates in the by-polls due to a technical error. “This has caused a great organizational loss for the party. We are holding an internal discussion to minimize damage to the party organization,” Sonal added.
Janamat, which is leading the province government, and JSP Nepal have fielded candidates in only six wards.
