Nepali Congress Candidate Narayan Koirala Confident of Victory in Surkhet-2 Election

Surkhet.—Narayan Koirala is the candidate for the Nepali Congress in Surkhet-2. He faces the challenge of preserving the Congress's legacy here. In the 079 election, a leader from his own team, Hridayaram Thani, had won. With Thani stepping away from the electoral arena, Koirala has entered the fray.

He is known within Surkhet Congress as an intellectual and modest leader, and is a former journalist who led the Surkhet Valley Town Development Committee. Ratopati recently held an electoral interview with Koirala, who is currently on the door-to-door campaign trail. Here is an excerpt from the short electoral interview conducted by Ratopati correspondent Pankha Bahadur Shahi:

• This is your first time in the electoral field, how is the campaign going? 

— The door-to-door campaign is ongoing. It is now finished everywhere else and is continuing within Birendranagar. There is a strong sentiment this time to ensure Congress wins. If Congress is not made victorious, these achievements—peace, the constitution, democracy, people's rights, sovereignty, republic, secularism, and federalism—could be lost. Therefore, the general sentiment is that Congress must win.

• And what are the demands of the people and your agendas? 

— The Congress agenda is the ‘Vision Ten’; that is it. For Surkhet specifically, it is about physical construction and infrastructure, and tourism. We have proposed developing Surkhet as an educational, administrative, and tourism hub. The necessary infrastructure and promotion for that are our other agendas. We have given major focus to human development. Another agenda of ours is for Congress to re-establish human values, ideals, mutual relations, and harmony, which have weakened.

Our agenda also includes operationalizing the Chaukune cement industry, which remains incomplete, and conducting archaeological surveys of sites of historical importance.

• In the past, Congress won here, and the competition was always between UML and Congress. Which parties do you anticipate competing against this time? 

— What should I say about the competition! I say there is no competition right now. However, the competition is with the traditional rivals from the past.

• Does that mean you are confident of winning the election? 

— Absolutely, absolutely..!

• And the basis for that? 

— The message given by Congress right now is a significant basis. The fact that I am a new candidate is also a basis. The work I have done in social service in the past, my work in the media sector, the struggle I undertook for the democratic movement, the presence we maintained during times like COVID, and my presence during people's joys and sorrows—that is also an asset for me.

• There are reports of internal problems within Congress, which could be a disadvantage, right? 

— There are no problems within Congress right now. All levels and tiers understand that Congress must win this time; it is not just about making Congress win, but about saving democracy and the constitution. Whenever the country faces a crisis, Congress unites, and that is the situation now.

• Your former colleague, Ramesh Sapkota, is also a candidate from Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). It is said that you face a challenge from him? 

— They left our party a long time ago. RSP does not make any difference to us. We are not thinking that it will have any impact. We are not worrying much about that issue. The public is already quite attracted to the policies of the Congress party leadership.

• Finally, what would you like to tell the voters through Ratopati? 

— This time, Congress is the indispensable force. We are a national power; we have worked to establish democracy in the country, and since Congress will work for the stability of democracy, I ask them to vote and make us victorious.