JANAKPUR, FEBRUARY 27 Balendra (Balen) Shah's wave, rather the Rastriya Swatantra Party, has grown in favour in Janakpur, the capital of Madhes province. Santosh Raut, an e-rickshaw driver, stated that people are not having other ideas than 'Ghanti', which means 'bell', the election symbol of RSP. 'However, there is likely to be competition between the Nepali Congress and RSP,' he said. 'In my opinion, Ghanti is winning.' A group of people standing near the rickshaw seconded Raut's claim that Ghanti is winning. 'We want to see Balen become prime minister,' they stated unequivocally. According to Mukesh Kumar Sah, a voter in Dhanusha constituency 3, the electoral battle has shifted in two directions. 'The contest is between Nepali Congress candidate Bimlendra Nidhi and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Manish Jha,' he said. Sah, who follows national politics closely, emphasised that the Balen craze in Janakpur has caused candidates from other parties to go on the defensive. Former Nepali Congress (NC) Vice President Bimalendra Nidhi, CPN-UML leader and former minister Juli Kumari Mahato, and RSP spokesperson Manish Jha are the top contenders for Dhanusha Constituency-3. Nidhi was elected to the House of Representatives in the previous election through proportional representation. In the 2017 election, Nidhi was defeated by Rajendra Mahato, the RJP-N candidate for this constituency. The UML candidate, Juli Kumari Mahato, defeated Anil Kumar Jha, the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party-Nepal candidate, in the 2022 election. However, in this election, Mahato has been left behind. 'With Balen's nationwide wave, it appears that the Nepali Congress and the RSP will face off in Dhanusha-3,' said Sah. RSP's candidate Jha faced another challenge from Rajiv Jha of the Rastriya Mukti Party (RMP), led by Rajendra Mahato, but Rajiv Jha recently joined RSP to support Manish Jha. This has made Manish's job easier in Dhanusha-3. Manish's headache, however, is that independent candidate Diwakar Sah is wellknown for his unique style of journalism. The youth attraction to Sah, who hails from Saptari but is contesting in Dhanusha-3, is enticing. Sah's candidature clearly concerns Manish. According to Mukesh Kumar Sah, Diwakar Sah is likely to receive a significant number of votes from Manish's hold. To overcome this, Manish appears to have adopted the practice of taking selfies with Dhanusha-3 residents while simultaneously raising the slogan 'Ab ki bar, Balen Sarkar', chatting with everyone, and sipping tea. Sohan Sha, a voter of the same constituency and former vice chair of the Madhes Planning Commission, said that the RSP will get a good number of votes due to Balen's wave in Janakpur. 'But Nidhi has a stronghold over the vote of locals in Janakpur and several caste clusters, which matters in Janakpur.' He also cautioned that Julie Mahato of UML cannot be ignored. She has a strong chance too. 'So, I see threeway competition here in Dhanush-3,' he said. Mahato is claimed to have done a good job in this area as a minister, having won by a large margin in the previous election. Mahato's victory could be based on the CPNUML's organisational strength, as well as votes from women and Muslims. However, allegations of nepotism and statements made by CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli and Secretary Mahesh Basnet that have damaged Madhesis' self-esteem are coming after her. 'Oli and Basnet's statement has cost Mahato the campaign heavily,' said Mukesh Kumar Sah. 'She is likely to lose as a result of that.' In the previous election, the Nepali Congress received 25,195 proportional votes in Dhanusha-3, while the CPN-UML received 17,874 votes. Nidhi, the Nepali Congress candidate, has a chance to win in Dhanusha-3 only if he can hold onto his proportional votes. However, the outcome of the Dhanusha-3 election will undoubtedly depend on how Nidhi handles the allure of the RSP and Balen as well as Manish's combative campaigning.