LUMBINI: Balkrishna Khand, a member of the Nepali Congress Central Committee and the common candidate of the left-democratic alliance, faced defeat in the election for the House of Representatives in the Rupandehi-3 constituency. Khand, who was serving as a home minister, lost to Deepak Bohora of the Rastriya Prajatra Party (RPP) who had the support of the CPN-UML. Bohora, however, hasn’t been unable to attend parliament meetings so far due to his health conditions.
Despite being on voice rest after contracting COVID-19, Bohora won the election without uttering a single word. RPP leader Niranjan Thapa addressed mass meetings on Bohora’s behalf.
Nepali Congress Lumbini Province Committee Chairman, Amar Singh Pun, who was publicized as the next chief minister, lost the election in Rolpa-1(B). Pun, who was contesting the election in the Maoist heartland, had the support of Maoist Center. However, he was defeated by independent candidate Dipendra Kumar Pun Magar who had left the Maoist Center just before the election.
Sudarshan Baral, the president of the Lumbini Province Committee of the Maoist Center, also faced defeat in the election. Baral, who was one of the chief minister hopefuls, was defeated by Chintamani Pandey of the UML in Gulmi-1(A).
The unexpected election results of Bohora, Pun, and Baral have been attributed to the pre-election alliance of different political parties. “Clearly, people did not like the alliance made before the election. It caused us a great loss,” Pun said. Pun, who was against forming the election alliance from the beginning, believes that his defeat was due to his opposing view.
“The election is about ideologies and policies. People didn’t like the candidate imposed on them. Our leaders should realize this,” he added.
The coalition faced defeats in Dang, Rolpa, Palpa, and other regions, and Pun believes that the losses were due to the alliance.
Baral of the Maoist Center said that the coalition with the Nepali Congress was not beneficial for the party. “There were more problems in the alliance with NC compared to our past alliances with left parties. It’s a learning experience for us,” he added.
Two governments in three months
After the November 20 elections, the Maoist Center formed a coalition with UML and some fringe parties to form the government at the center. In Lumbini Province, a coalition government of UML, Maoist, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) was formed. In a surprise turn of events, UMl’s Leela Giri, who was elected from Rupandehi Constituency 2 (B) constituency, was appointed as the Chief Minister on January 11.
Giri, who had the support of 56 assembly members, was expected to lead the provincial government for a long time. However, the government started facing crises as rift widened between UML and Maoist Center at the center. The government ultimately fell after just 103 days in power.
After Leela Giri failed the floor test on April 24, Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary was appointed as the Chief Minister on April 27, with the support of eight parties, including the Maoist Center.
The political upheavals seen in the past three months confirm the unstable politics in Nepal. Maoist Center’s Indrajit Tharu, who held a ministerial portfolio in Giri’s cabinet, said that he had to leave many works unfinished. “Works on administrative buildings have been affected. The situation is similar for other works in the new province capital,” Tharu said.
The political instability has not only affected the government’s functioning but has also hampered various development works in the province.
Political analyst Rishi Azad believes that political leaders in Nepal are primarily focused on acquiring and retaining power, rather than working towards the betterment of citizens. “The thinking of the leaders is limited to forming and sustaining the government. They don’t have a clear plan for improving the livelihood of citizens,” he added.
Bhoj Prasad Shrestha, a province assembly member and vice chairman of UML’s Lumbini Province Committee, said questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the federal system due to the political instability resulting from power struggles. “The game for power has created instability from center to provinces,” said Shrestha. “In the parliamentary system, both the government and the opposition should be responsible. But we have seen that one can go to any extent for power.”
Shadow of the center
As per the constitution, provinces are a separate setup. There are separate constitutional provisions on the formation and functioning of the government in the provinces. However, province governments have been seeing instability due to changes in leadership at the center. Lumbini Province, for example, has seen five different governments in just its second term.
Shankar Pokharel of CPN-UML was appointed as the province’s chief minister on February 14, 2018. He was expected to serve the full five-year term. However, power struggles at the center gave birth to a new coalition in the province. As a result, his government fell. His second term lasted only three months.
Kul Prasad KC of Maoist Center succeeded him as the province’s second chief minister on August 12, 2021. He remained in the office until the elections held in November 20, 2022. After the election, Leela Giri became the province’s third chief minister, while Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary is now leading the province government as the fourth chief minister.
The politics at the center has not only affected governments in the province. Even province chiefs have been changed frequently. Umakanta Jha, who was appointed as the first province chief of Lumbini on January 17, 2018, served for around 21 months. The government then appointed Dharmananda Yadav as the province chief on November 4, 2019. The incumbent province chief, Amik Sherchan, was appointed on July 27, 2021.
