Karnali Province Chief Minister and Ministers Prioritize Election Campaigns as Federal Polls Approach

Surkhet. As the House of Representatives elections draw near, the Chief Minister, ministers, and members of the Karnali Province government are also gearing up for the polls. They have started participating in the election campaigns organized by their respective parties.

Chief Minister Yamalal Kandel had been seen more frequently at party programs than government events since the election dates were announced. He continues the same trend now. After the candidate registration process concluded, he has been prioritizing election-related programs.

On Friday, Chief Minister Kandel traveled to Jambukandh to address a workers' gathering organized by the Dailekh Constituency No. 2. He was accompanied by the Minister for Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives, Binod Kumar Shah, who also serves as the government spokesperson.

Chief Minister Kandel, who stayed in Jambukandh on Friday, addressed the workers' gathering for Dailekh Constituency No. 1 on Saturday. He participates in almost all CPN-UML election programs held in Surkhet.

Sources indicate that candidates close to Chief Minister Kandel are contesting in all four constituencies across Surkhet and Dailekh. Since these are the constituencies where the CPN-UML is assessed to have a chance of winning, Kandel is showing special interest, according to sources.

Chief Minister Kandel is also the Central Secretary of the party and the election commander for Karnali. He frequently visits the CPN-UML party office in Birendranagar lately.

Kandel Uses Private Vehicle for Election Programs

The Chief Minister's secretariat has stated that Chief Minister Kandel does not use government vehicles when attending election campaigns. "He does not use government vehicles when going to election campaigns and programs," said a member of the secretariat.

Sources indicate that Chief Minister Kandel uses the vehicle of businessman Bir Bahadur Rawat, who is close to the CPN-UML, for his election programs. He used Rawat's vehicle when traveling to Dailekh.

According to leaders close to the CPN-UML, the Provincial Secretariat meeting formed an Election Operation Committee under the convenorship of Chief Minister Kandel himself, with Manav Bam, Bir Bahadur Rawat, and Hariharnath Yogi as members.

Aggressive Stance Against Gen-Z Movement; Old Age Allowance Becomes Election Agenda

Chief Minister Yamalal Kandel makes aggressive statements against the Gen-Z movement and newly formed political parties in almost every program. During such times, he defends his party chairman, KP Sharma Oli, who leads the government.

Chief Minister Kandel has been interpreting the upcoming election as a battle between those who want to build the nation and those who want to destroy it. He portrays his party, CPN-UML, as the party that builds the nation.

In the election programs held in Dailekh on Friday and Saturday, Chief Minister Kandel commented that the upcoming election is a fight between forces building the nation and forces destroying it. He stated that if the CPN-UML fails to win this time, the nation's constitution, democracy, and stability will be at risk.

Chief Minister Kandel had recently criticized Gen-Z individuals, saying, "You are just children, you don't understand anything." In addition to expressing views against the Gen-Z movement and new political parties in election programs, he is also making the old age allowance an election agenda.

In an election program held in Birendranagar a few days ago, he said, "Manmohan gave 100 rupees, today it has reached 4 thousand; no elderly person will run away out of fear. The old age allowance has now become a refuge."

Criticism from the Opposition

The performance of the Karnali Province Government has been sluggish. Budget expenditure is disappointing. Neither has the budget been implemented according to the target in the current fiscal year, nor have the government's other tasks been prompt and effective.

Criticism of the government has also begun to be heard in the Provincial Assembly meetings. In the Provincial Assembly meeting held after a long time, CPN Parliamentary Party leader Mangal Bahadur Shahi raised questions about the government's performance.

In the meeting held on Magh 19, CPN MP Krishna Bahadur GC claimed that the team led by Yamalal Kandel has completely failed in running the government. "The budget implementation status so far is weaker than in previous years. Necessary laws, regulations, policies, and procedures have not been formulated," he said, "The Congress-UML government has become completely incompetent in governance."

He criticized the government for being irresponsible regarding issues like budget implementation and the appointment process for the member-secretary of the Sports Council. The opposition boycotted Sunday's parliament session, alleging that the government has become irresponsible and is disregarding the opposition.

Chief Minister Kandel, however, tends to ignore the issues raised regarding the government.