Nepali Leaders Break Promises, Seek Re-election After Declaring Previous Polls Their 'Last'

Kathmandu. Several prominent leaders who won elections after asking the public for votes by saying, 'This is my last election, please support me this time,' have filed their candidacies again for the upcoming polls. The leaders have easily broken not only the commitments made in their manifestos but also their personal pledges not to contest elections.

Generally, there are complaints that the verbal promises made by leaders during door-to-door campaigning and the commitments in written manifestos often go unfulfilled. However, this time, several leaders are seen seeking votes for themselves while declaring their current contest as the last of their political careers.

Madhav Kumar Nepal

Madhav Kumar Nepal, Co-coordinator of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), sought votes from the public in Rautahat-1 during the 2079 election campaign, stating it would be his last election and that he would not contest again. However, this time he has reapplied as a candidate from the same constituency. In the last election, Nepal was elected as a member of the House of Representatives with 33,522 votes, defeating Ajay Kumar Gupta of CPN (UML), who secured 26,922 votes.

Mahendra Rai Yadav

Similarly, another leader from the CPN, Mahendra Rai Yadav, also asked for votes in Sarlahi-2 during the last election while contesting under the election symbol of the then CPN (Maoist Centre), saying, 'You have supported me many times, now my health will not support me either, this is my last election,' and he won the election.

However, this time he is a candidate again in the same constituency. Regarding his double standards, he cites 'the desire of the people and the request of the party' as the reason. 'I had told the people that I would not contest the next election, this is the last one, but this time I have filed my candidacy after the people there and the party insisted that I must contest,' he said.

Sharat Singh Bhandari

Another leader breaking promises in this manner is Sharat Singh Bhandari of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal. In the previous election, he committed to the voters of Mahottari-2 that it would be his last election and that he would not contest again. Bhandari, who has contested 10 elections and won 8, and served as a minister 19 times in his 44-year political career, had announced his retirement in the last election itself. But this time, he has again filed his candidacy in the same constituency.

Dr. Surendra Yadav, a leader from his party, says that Bhandari did not wish to contest this time. 'I have been contesting elections there for a long time; it's time to give others a chance, he told the party, but the party itself has sent him to contest this time, saying responsibility should be given to others next time,' said leader Yadav. 'He has done well for Mahottari-2, and he has been sent there seeing the possibility of a win.'

Not just these leaders, but most leaders are currently engaging in 'emotional blackmailing' with the public during the election time, saying 'one last time' again.