Election Activities Stagnate in Mustang Amid Cold Weather Driving Voters to Cities

Baglung. As the date for the House of Representatives election approaches, the entire country is immersed in election fervor. Discussions about the election are taking place from village squares to community resting places. However, the Himalayan district of Mustang seems untouched by this election buzz. The villages are deserted. Even in the district headquarters, Jomsom, there is not much election activity.

Mustang candidates and voters, who descended to the cities to escape the cold in Mangsir, have not yet returned to their villages. Most candidates are also in the cities. Locals are preparing to return to their villages as soon as the cold subsides.

Candidates who arrived in Mustang on Magh 6 to file their nominations for the upcoming election are also currently in the cities. Most candidates are seen campaigning door-to-door in Pokhara and Kathmandu to woo voters. Due to the extreme cold in Mustang, most locals reside in the cities throughout the winter. While there is a hustle and bustle of tourists in Jomsom market at this time, the upper regions remain deserted. 

Although the candidate from the CPN (UML), Ngutung Gurung, has ascended to Mustang, many other candidates remain in Pokhara and Kathmandu.

According to Aditya Rasaili of Gharphalong Rural Municipality-3, more than 80 percent of voters have moved to major cities in the country to escape the cold. He mentions that every year, Mustangis stay in the cities from Mangsir to Chaitra. Snowfall is currently occurring in various places, including Lomanthang and Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipalities, making living conditions difficult.

‘All the voters are in the plains. Whether they will come to vote or not is uncertain. Residents of Upper Mustang only return to the villages after Chaitra. Before that, it is impossible to stay due to the snow,’ Rasaili says, ‘This time, the election has started before the cold season ended. How many voters will participate?’

Candidates have already campaigned door-to-door among voters residing in Pokhara and Kathmandu in one phase. In Mustang, which has only one constituency, eight parties, including Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (UML), and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), have registered their candidacies.

Yogesh Gauchan Thakali, the candidate from the Nepali Congress, states that he could not meet voters because he had to stay in India for a long time for the treatment of a sick relative.

‘The election is near, and I haven't even campaigned door-to-door yet. There hasn't been any general discussion with the voters. I was in India for a long time due to a sick relative; I only returned a few days ago,’ Gauchan says, ‘All the voters in the villages are in the cities; they only ascend to Mustang when the cold subsides. I will meet the voters and ascend to Mustang in five or seven days.’

CPN-UML candidate Indradhara Jhada Bista shares that he is currently in discussions with voters in Kathmandu.

‘It is still cold in Mustang; why go up so early? All the voters are in Kathmandu,’ he says, ‘My main agenda is promoting tourism in Mustang and constructing infrastructure on the Nepali side of the Korala border. I have conveyed this to the voters in the city. I will return in a few days. Nobody is up there right now.’

CPN (UML) candidate Ngutung Gurung, however, ascended to Mustang from Pokhara on Monday. He mentions that he ascended to Mustang after meeting voters in Pokhara and Kathmandu.

‘Mustang is still deserted due to the cold. The warmth will gradually increase. Voters might also ascend (to Mustang) in five or seven days,’ he says, ‘I will win the election this time. This time is a bit different from the previous election. Many parties have united this time. We must eradicate corruption in the country.’

RSP candidate Adwitiya Chandra Thakali states that he is in discussions with voters in Kathmandu.

‘All the voters are in the cities. It is of no use for me to go to Mustang alone. I cannot abandon the voters. They ask where the candidate is,’ he says, ‘There is no point in going up so soon. Campaigning and door-to-door visits are happening here.’

Mustang, which has only one constituency, has a total of 11,328 voters and 39 polling stations, according to the District Election Office, Mustang.

In Mustang, Ajay Bik from Aam Janata Party, Yamba Bahadur Gurung from Mongol National Organisation, Kamala Lalchan from Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), and Dr. Surendra Sherchan from Ujyalo Nepal Party are also in the electoral field, along with the main four parties.