Unusual Scenes Emerge in Myagdi as Election Campaign Heats Up

Myagdi. Different and new scenes are being witnessed in the district during the campaign for the House of Representatives election. From locals providing financial support to candidates visiting villages for campaigning, two candidates from different parties seeking votes from the same stage, to honoring a former lawmaker by the leadership of the opposition party for fulfilling electoral commitments, various events are unfolding.

Independent candidate Dr. Mahabir Pun, who is campaigning informally by visiting neighborhoods, is spontaneously receiving financial support from mothers' groups and local residents in various places.

Pun, who resigned from his post as the interim government's Minister for Education, Science and Technology to contest the House of Representatives election in his ancestral home Myagdi, has received spontaneous financial assistance from voters in places like Nagi in Annapurna Rural Municipality-8, Panthok in Malika Rural Municipality-5, and Churyabot-4, his birthplace.

"While there is talk of people distributing money to win votes, it is the voters themselves who are financially supporting me," said Pun during his campaign in Marang, Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-6. "I have received assistance totaling NPR 1.5 million so far. I will publicly disclose the accounts of the received support after the election."

A few days ago in Dowa, Annapurna-1, where two candidates from different parties sought votes from the same stage, local residents, led by the ward chairman elected from CPN (UML), honored former Gandaki Province lawmaker Binod KC, who was elected from the then CPN (Maoist Centre), for fulfilling electoral commitments on Saturday.

CPN (UML) candidate Harikrishna Shrestha and CPN Maoist candidate Kshetri Bahadur Ghimire (Biplav) used the same stage on January 11 (Magh 27) in Dowa to meet voters and express their views. On Saturday, former Provincial Assembly member KC, who was elected from Myagdi 1(A) in 2074 BS, was honored by Ward Chairman Dilip Garbuja, elected from CPN (UML), while campaigning for CPN candidate Arjun Thapa in the same location.

Former lawmaker KC had committed during the 2074 election campaign in Dowa to arrange for 'one house, one tap' drinking water facilities. The Dowa Drinking Water Project, initiated through the provincial government from the fiscal year 2075/76 and completed last year with an investment of approximately NPR 50 million, has benefited 422 households.

As the voting date approaches, political parties and candidates in the district have intensified their campaigning. The rural areas have become bustling as candidates hold election rallies in three to six locations in a single day and leaders and cadres conduct door-to-door visits. Candidates are using door-to-door canvassing and social media as mediums for their election promotion.

Political analyst Laxman Sharma stated that in the district, which has one constituency for the House of Representatives election, Karna Bahadur Bhandari (KB) of the Nepali Congress, Harikrishna Shrestha of CPN (UML), Arjun Thapa of the Communist Party of Nepal, and independent candidate Dr. Mahabir Pun are the main contenders.

He noted that the competition is seen as a contest between the organizational legacy of candidates from political parties, the evaluation of their past work, and the personality of Mahabir Pun. The district, which has six local levels, has 86,397 voters, 82 polling stations, and 120 polling centers.

Candidates in the district have committed to implementing the status of a Himalayan district, ensuring good governance by making public service delivery technology-friendly, eliminating delays, and incorporating the feelings, demands, and needs of the district residents in laws, budgets, and plans.