Voters in Bara-1 Express Uncertainty Over Candidates as Election Nears Amidst Disillusionment with Old Parties

Bara. As the election date approaches, voters are showing uncertainty about which candidate to select. Apart from party loyalists, the general public is weary of the working style of the old parties, while they remain undecided on whether to trust the candidates from the new parties.

In the election following the Janji movement, many voters appear to be in a mindset to change their vote this time, but they have not yet been able to decide which candidate to vote for even within the new parties.

Ganesh Prasad Chaudhary of Ward No. 9, Kolhawi Municipality, stated that the public needs to know the election agenda, principles, and policies of the new parties.

'Where did the Janji movement start on Bhadra 23 and 24? Who burned Singha Durbar and the Supreme Court? They must answer the public,' Chaudhary said, adding, 'Balen's map of Greater Nepal was behind his chair initially, why has it been removed now?'

From 2048 BS, the leadership in all four constituencies of Bara was held by the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML. After 2064 BS, CPN (Maoist Centre) took the lead, and after 2070 BS, Madhesi parties came into leadership.

Now, after the Janji movement, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has suddenly gained traction. RSP has reached the grassroots level through social media users in rural areas.

Chaudhary commented that the fanfare of RSP, the most discussed among the new parties, is not much different from that of the old parties. Ramdatt Bhagat of Ward No. 5, Adarshkotwal Rural Municipality, said that a campaign to elect new parties has started in the village because the old parties failed to understand the problems of the people.

'We voted for the old parties many times, nothing happened. This time, we will vote for a new party,' Bhagat said. 'All the people are hurt. If Congress and UML were going to bring development, they would have done it by now.'

Another local, Shyam Babu Yadav of Ward No. 5, Baragadhi Rural Municipality, shared the plight of farmers who are forced to depend on India for fertilizer and seeds.

'Farming won't happen here if fertilizer and seeds don't come from India. What will people eat? We don't get timely fertilizer and seeds from the Nepal government,' he said. 'The rural municipality distributes seeds, but they don't yield well.'

Another local, Hridayanarayan Yadav, stated that there is confusion among the locals about whom to vote for in this election.

'They say they will vote for the Bell (RSP symbol), but who is the candidate? We don't know what they will do if they win,' he said. 'No leader has come to the village to state their agenda, saying I will do this/that if elected.'

Farmers in Bara-1 have demanded a fixed place to sell their produce and receive fair prices.

Traders in Birgunj arbitrarily set prices and take away the vegetables and fruits produced by the farmers here.

According to Yadav, even though many leaders from the district have won elections and become ministers or deputy prime ministers, the produce of the farmers here has never received a fair price, and they constantly face problems with fertilizer, seeds, and irrigation.

Indra Tharu of Ward No. 1, Kolhawi Municipality, complained that the education in community schools is not good, teachers do not give time to students, and they do not teach properly in the classrooms.

She mentioned the compulsion to travel to Birgunj and Bharatpur for treatment because there is no good hospital in the village. Kolhawi, Baragadhi, and Adarshkotwal fall under Bara Constituency No. 1.

In the 2079 election, CPN-UML's Achyut Mainali was elected from this constituency through an alliance with JSP.

Before Mainali, Nepali Congress leaders Umakanta Chaudhary (2056, 2074 BS), Ramayodhya Prasad Yadav (2070 BS), former Chief Minister of Madhes Province Saroj Kumar Yadav (2064 BS), and CPN-UML's Mukunda Bahadur Chhetri (2048, 2051 BS) were elected.

Bara-1 constituency extends from Nijgadh Municipality, connected to the Chure hills in the north, through Kolhawi, Baragadhi, Adarshkotwal, to the historic city of Simraungadh, bordering India in the south.

For the election on Falgun 21, there are about a dozen candidates in Bara-1, including Shambhu Budhathoki of Nepali Congress, Achyut Mainali from UML, Rambabu Yadav from JSP, Santosh Dangal from CPN, Ganesh Dhimal from RSP, and Bijay Yadav from Aam Janata Party.

The proposed Nijgadh International Airport and the expressway connecting Terai/Madhes to Kathmandu also fall in this area. This area is rich in natural resources like dense forests, riverine materials, etc., towards the north. Farmers here are engaged in commercial vegetable farming, fish farming, sugarcane cultivation, and medicinal herb farming.

Farmers often go to the neighboring country India for necessary fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides for agricultural production. There are no large industries with private investment in this area. A medicinal herb processing factory is operational in Kolhawi with government investment.

There are 116,000 voters in this constituency. In the community structure, the Chaudhary community is dominant in the north, and the Yadav community in the south. The main competition in this area has historically been between the Nepali Congress and the Janata Samajbadi Party.

For the election on Falgun 21, there are about a dozen candidates in Bara-1, including Shambhu Budhathoki of Nepali Congress, Achyut Mainali from UML, Rambabu Yadav from JSP, Santosh Dangal from CPN, Ganesh Dhimal from RSP, and Bijay Yadav from Aam Janata Party.

Baragadhi Rural Municipality Chief Ashok Kumar Jaiswal claimed that the main competition in Bara-1 would be between Nepali Congress and JSP.

He stated that the federal government should construct the Jamuni Khola bridge, which the municipality's budget cannot afford, the 17 km road from Baragadhi to Rautahat, and the 7 km road from Baragadhi-4 to Karaiyamai Gadhimai Temple.

'Our development budget is only about 10/11 crore. Building this bridge and road requires a large budget,' Rural Municipality Chief Jaiswal said. 'Good roads have been built in the hills with large expenditures, but why the discrimination from the government in such an accessible area?'

He mentioned that due to the unstable provincial government, the construction work on incomplete school buildings in rural areas has been left unfinished as the President's Educational Reform Program was halted midway.

Meanwhile, JSP candidate Rambabu Prasad Yadav from Bara-1 claimed that education is the main problem in this constituency.

'Education must be brought to a good state first in Madhes. After that, there is a big problem with irrigation and fertilizer in agriculture,' candidate Yadav said. 'Our votes are hidden within UML, Congress, and Maoist. Those votes will come to me. Currently, our main competition is with Congress.'

Although organizationally strong in Bara-1, Nepali Congress candidate Shambhu Budhathoki is weakening due to internal strife within the party.

Influential Congress leader and former minister Umakanta Chaudhary has not openly appeared in campaigning in support of Budhathoki. Chaudhary belongs to the Krishna Sitaula faction.

Sources close to Congress indicated that Budhathoki has become isolated in the area because he supported UML candidate Surath Puri in defeating Suresh Khanal in the last local level elections.

Currently, only former Mayor of Simraungadh, Vijayashankar Yadav, is actively supporting Budhathoki.

Candidate Budhathoki, however, stated that there is no dispute within the Congress and that any existing disputes will be resolved quickly, allowing them to move forward unitedly in the election.