Rastriya Prajatantra Party's Gyan Bahadur Shahi Confident of Victory in Jumla Amidst Campaign Trail

Surkhet. Gyan Bahadur Shahi (Gyanendra) has once again become a candidate for the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in Jumla. Shahi, who surprisingly defeated a strong party like the Maoists in the 079 elections, claims that the people of Jumla will endorse him this time as well.

Ratopati had a brief conversation with Shahi, who is currently touring every village in Jumla for election campaigning, focusing entirely on the election context.

• You are a candidate again, how is the election campaign going?

The election campaign is going very well in every village. We have completed one phase of the election campaign in all areas of Tila Rural Municipality. It is finished in Tatopani and Tila, and we are moving to other places.

• What is the reaction of the people of Jumla towards you?

There is no negativity towards me now. They are showing good goodwill. They are showing affection. They are saying, 'No matter if you are from Congress, UML, or Maoist, we will cast our single vote for the plow (Haloo).' They are saying, 'I am a ward chairman from Congress, I am a ward president from Maoist, I am the deputy mayor of the municipality, but we will cast our single vote for the plow.'

• It is said that Jumla has never re-elected a parliamentarian so far?

Well, good things should be repeated! During the first phase of the campaign, we did not find any such aversion towards us. Now, it is not for me, the candidate, to say, but no one is negative towards me. You might not believe what I say. You can ask other people here. In fact, people who did not vote for me last time are waiting to vote for me.

• So, will you break the narrative that the district never re-elects a parliamentarian?

Well, the results will show that, but re-election is possible now. What reason is there for me to lose? The arithmetic of votes might fluctuate, but there is absolutely no reason for me to lose.

• Then what is the basis for your victory?

The love of the people is the biggest thing.

• You won in the last election, but some voters are reportedly dissatisfied, saying you only talked about bringing back the King and didn't focus on development?

That is not the case. Some republicans, especially Marxists, might feel that way. The public does not feel that way.

We have also raised the issues of the people! The King is our faith. If someone's faith is in Marxism, our King is our faith. Therefore, I am the first person to raise the issues of the people in Jumla like this to date. The public has noticed this.

Especially in Jumla, the way we expanded the social media network allowed the public to see my words directly. Furthermore, the citizens of Jumla are not as the people like you and me might think. The most conscious citizens of Nepal live here. You might think it is far away, but once you enter Jumla, you realize how beautiful Jumla is.

I state clearly that no citizen of Jumla is negative. Rather, last year, friends from Congress, UML, and Maoist were not openly supportive, but this year they are openly campaigning for me. We have even released videos of people from UML speaking.

• Who are your main competitors?

The people are the biggest thing; the people are God. Voter turnout will be lower this time because students are outside, and there are adverse weather conditions in the mountainous districts. That is the only concern.