Rupandehi-2 Constituency: Land Ownership Dispute Dominates Election Narrative in Key Ward

Butwal. Rupandehi District's Constituency No. 2 is always a constituency that remains in the spotlight. Vishnu Prasad Paudel has not only been elected from this constituency multiple times but has also succeeded in becoming a minister several times.

This area came to the center of national interest in 2070 BS when former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai became a candidate, but he faced defeat.

Currently, competition is expected here between former minister Paudel, new faces, and candidates with different agendas. Rupandehi-2 comprises a total of 23 wards, including Wards 1 to 13 of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, Wards 1 to 6 of Tilottama Municipality, and Wards 1 to 4 of Sainamaina Municipality. There are a total of 135,505 voters here. Among them, the ward with the highest number of voters is Butwal-11, which has about 18,000 voters. This ward, encompassing the Devinagar and Buddhanagar areas, has historically been viewed as holding the 'decisive vote'.

• Why is Butwal-11 of such high interest?

In past local level elections or provincial assembly elections, the votes from this ward have been considered decisive by many.

According to Jeevanarayan Adhikari, a Sociology Professor at Butwal Multiple Campus, the main reason this ward is closely watched is that the primary demand of the voters here is land ownership documents (Lalpurja). Another reason is the large number of floating voters.

The Devinagar and Buddhanagar areas, which saw rapid settlement growth after 2060 BS, face a significant problem regarding Lalpurja (Land Ownership Certificate). Locals are dissatisfied because, despite assurances of Lalpurja in past elections, the problem has not been resolved.

Kalpana Thapa Magar from Buddhanagar says, 'We are repeatedly assured of Lalpurja, but it is not given. This time, we will vote for the candidate who ensures Lalpurja.' Candidates in this area include CPN-UML's Vishnu Prasad Paudel, Nepali Congress's Chunnu Prasad Paudel, CPN (Maoist Centre)'s Bishwadeep Pandey, independent Dr. Kalam Bhusal (Nicholas), Rastriya Swatantra Party's Sulabh Kharel, and Keshab Bahadur Thapamagar of Rastriya Janamukti Party, among others.

During door-to-door campaigns, most candidates stated they faced repeated questions from voters regarding the Lalpurja issue.

CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate Pandey claims that he has prioritized the Lalpurja-related problems as they are most prevalent in Butwal-11. Congress candidate Paudel is a resident of this very ward and is known as a successful industrialist. He claims to understand the problems closely due to regular interactions with locals.

Nicholas Bhusal, who is also a doctor, is trying to connect with voters through health and social service initiatives.

CPN-UML candidate Paudel admits that there has been some delay in distributing Lalpurja due to various national issues he has been pursuing in the past. He is currently campaigning among voters by giving high priority to resolving the Lalpurja issue in his agenda.

Engineer Suraj Pandey, the candidate from the new party 'Ujyaalo Nepal' in this constituency, also mentioned that voters in that ward raised issues like Lalpurja and unemployment. He stated that he has an agenda to give a new direction not just to the voters of one ward but to the entire constituency, district, and country.

Potential Impact on Vote Results

In the last local level elections, there was intense competition between CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress in Butwal-11. The CPN-UML's ward chairman candidate defeated the Nepali Congress candidate by a narrow margin of just 121 votes. Currently, there are 17,943 total voters in the ward.

It is estimated that the CPN-UML's vote share might be slightly affected recently after CPN-UML leader Manju Bhusal, a resident of the same ward, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and became a proportional representation candidate.

According to Arjun Kunwar from Devinagar, she is a leader well-integrated at the local level. Furthermore, some voters appear dissatisfied because assurances regarding Lalpurja have been given since 2064 BS but not implemented.

The vote from Butwal-11 appears decisive in determining the overall result in Rupandehi-2. According to Professor Jeevanarayan Adhikari, past experiences show that whoever convinces the voters and commits to resolving issues related to Lalpurja, settlement management, and local development will determine the final outcome.

He adds that candidates must pay close attention because there are also floating voters, and there is an equal possibility of manipulation at the last moment here.