Kanchapur-2 Battleground: Veteran Congressman Faces New Challengers Amidst Land Rights and Wildlife Concerns

Dhangadhi. Nineteen candidates are contesting the House of Representatives election in Kanchanpur Constituency No. 2. Among them, NP Saud of the Nepali Congress has been elected to the House of Representatives from this constituency multiple times.

In this constituency, CPN-UML has nominated Bachan Singh, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has nominated Deepak Bohara, and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) has nominated Madhav Pant. All three are vying to become a Member of Parliament for the first time.

Kanchanpur Constituency No. 2 comprises Krishnapur Municipality, Shuklaphanta Municipality, and wards 1-7, 9, and 10 of Bedkot Municipality.

None of the main competitors here are local residents. Congress's Saud and RSP's Bohara have migrated from Dadeldhura, while UML candidate Singh's birthplace is Bajura. CPN's Pant's family migrated here from Baitadi.

There is a significant population here that has migrated from the hilly districts of Sudurpashchim to the Terai. The candidates also come from this background. The Ranatharu and Tharu communities also have a notable presence here.

For former Foreign Minister NP Saud, contesting the election from the Nepali Congress, this election is his seventh trial by fire. Saud has tasted both victory and defeat in six previous elections.

He was defeated by the UML candidate when he first contested from Kanchanpur-3. He entered parliament in 2056 BS by defeating UML from Constituency No. 1. He was defeated in the 2064 election. In the second Constituent Assembly election of 2070 BS, he won by securing 13,415 votes. After losing to Nar Bahadur Dhami of the Left Alliance in 2074 BS, he became a Member of Parliament for the third time in the 2079 election with the support of Maoist and CPN (Unified Socialist).

Saud is now seeking a fourth victory. Looking at the internal dynamics of the Congress, Saud appears quite fortunate. Following the emergence of new leadership within the Congress, many who received tickets in 2079 BS did not get them this time. Bir Bahadur Balayar returned his ticket even after receiving it in Kailali-4. Saud is the only Congress candidate from Sudurpashchim to receive a ticket again and enter the election field. "Victory is mine this time too," he said, confident from his previous win.

In the same constituency, CPN-UML candidate Bachan Singh was previously defeated by Om Bikram Bhat of CPN (Maoist Centre) in the Provincial Assembly member election. Despite losing at the provincial level, the party trusted him and nominated him as a candidate for the House of Representatives.

Singh, whose ancestral home is in Bajura, is aiming to secure a victory by leveraging the strong organization of the UML and exploiting dissatisfaction within the Congress. The psychological pressure created by past defeat and internal party management could pose a challenge for him.

The candidate generating the most buzz and curiosity in this election is RSP's Deepak Bohara. Bohara, who worked for a long time as the main person in the production team of the popular television program 'Sidha Kura Janata Sanga,' is now running to enter parliament carrying the issues of the people himself.

He has been active in villages for a few months. Bohara, who has journalism experience from Nepal Television to News24, argues: "While working in journalism, I saw and wrote about many societal problems, but realized that nothing can be done without reaching the place where solutions are made."

Bohara, considered a confidant of Rabi Lamichhane, is a person with good writing style and capability. He is aiming to overturn the results by capitalizing on the public's disillusionment with the old parties. His supporters believe that his presence in the election scheduled for Falgun 21 will cause a stir in the vote banks of both Congress and UML.

Young leader Madhav Pant is in the field from the newly formed Communist Party of Nepal, formed by the merger of those affiliated with CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), and the campaign close to Bhim Rawal. CPN (Maoist Centre) had not fielded its own candidate in this constituency since 2070 BS. It usually contested in an alliance, supporting UML in 2074 BS and Congress in 2079 BS. This time, with the party's name and structure changed, Pant is in the fray. Pant, whose family migrated from Baitadi, is trying to become known among the youth.

This time, voters are intending to vote selectively. "We will not vote like before," said Parbatidevi Saud from Krishnapur-7.

According to her, the biggest issue here is the rehabilitation of the victims of the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve.

This problem dates back to the Panchayat era. Thousands of families displaced in the name of reserve expansion are still living in camps. According to government statistics, more than 32 commissions were formed to resolve the issue. Commission officials came, took allowances, submitted reports, but the victims received neither land nor title deeds.

Local voter Parvati Chaudhary states that they will vote for the leader who addresses their problem in this election.

"We have been facing this problem for many years. Whichever leader comes, it's the same. This time, the vote will go to whomever makes a written commitment to genuinely address our problem," said Saud.

Although they do not have title deeds, these victims, who represent a consolidated vote bank, claim they are a decisive force this time. Bhuwan Bik of Krishnapur Municipality stated that it is unpredictable where this vote will go.

"Even though we are citizens of the country, it feels like we are not. Anything can happen in the election now. We won't say anything right now, but we will only vote for those who work," he said.

There are also many voters engaged in agriculture here. The problem of river erosion cutting away land is a recurring annual burden here. Voters say they will vote for those who work on river embankments and address local problems.

The menace of wild animals is another major problem here. Elephants and wild boars emerging from the national park destroy farmers' crops. They are forced to live in fear every night that an elephant might demolish their house.

"An elephant can wipe out the paddy planted all year for food in a single night. There is neither compensation nor security," said Hariram Chaudhary.

He stated that the current disillusionment among voters is due to the elected representatives ignoring local problems. He says that this time, he will vote based on sustainable solutions and plans for problem-solving, rather than empty assurances.