Nepalgunj, November 22

The three major parties — the Nepali Congress, CPN UML and CPN Maoist Centre — have not fielded their candidates in Constituency No 2 of Banke, which will be going to the polls on December 7.

The cadres of these parties are unhappy with their leadership’s decision not to field candidates in this constituency.

Former president of NC late Sushil Koirala had won the second Constituent Assembly election in 2013 from this constituency.

Most of the wards of Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan City are in this constituency which has 82,818

voters, including 30,000 Muslims.

The UML and the CPN-MC have supported independent candidate Pashupati Dayal Mishra — associated with Independent Intellectual Group — in this constituency, while the NC has supported Rastriya Prajatantra Party candidate Om Prakash Ajad.

Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal has fielded Mohammad Isteyak Rain who had lost the 2013 CA election to former president of NC late Sushil Koirala.

UML Banke Chair Ashok Koirala said local leaders of the left alliance, including Damodar Acharya and Athar Hussain, were unhappy about Mishra’s candidacy. He had quit Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal a few days before he filed his candidacy as an independent candidate. He is now contesting election with the UML’s election symbol - the sun.

He was an NC rebel candidate in the 1998 general election when Sushil Koirala was the party’s official candidate.

Mishra was chairman of the District Development Committee when former King Gyanendra took over power. He contested from Banke-2 in the 2008 CA elections but lost to the FSF-N candidate Mohammad Isteyak Rain.

UML leader Ashok Koirala said that Mishra was no more an independent candidate. “There is a technical problem that needs to be sorted out. He will join the UML after election,” Koirala added.

NC Banke President Kiran Koirala also expressed dissatisfaction with his party. “I should have got a chance to be the party’s candidate in this constituency,” She said, “We should make democratic decisions to save democracy and implement the constitution. We have no choice but to strengthen the democratic alliance.”

RPP candidate in Banke-2 Om Prakash Ajad was nominated as deputy mayor of Nepalgunj Municipality after former King Gyanendra took over.

The democratic alliance had bagged more than 6,000 votes in the local elections.

RPP’s Dhawal Shamsher JB Rana was elected mayor in this sub-metropolis.

Local NC leaders were opposed to Ajad’s candidacy and had demanded that the NC field its own candidate in the constituency, which the top leaders of the party ignored.

Rain said language, religious rights, identity, equality and equal access to natural resources were his agenda. He is the only Muslim candidate in this constituency with 30,000 Muslim voters.

RJ-PN has fielded its Vice-chair Bijay Kumar Gupta in this constituency. He had won the mayoral race in the 1999 local election on NC’s ticket.