Kavre, April 18:

Defeated in both his constituencies in the April 10 Constituent Assembly election, CPN-UML former general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, retreated from the hurly-burly of urban life to lick his wounds at Dhulikhel of Kavre district. Nepal reached Dhulikhel last evening with two personal bodyguards by car and checked into Hotel Mirabel.

The hotel staffers were astonished because in the past Nepal used to arrive amidst a convoy of party cadres and security personnel. When a female staffer oh-ed in surprise, Nepal looked back at her and smiled.

His bodyguards, too, were surprised when after reaching the lobby he spread his arms wide, exhaled and said, “Ah! Dhulikhel is after all Dhulikhel.” Hotel staffers quoted Nepal as saying,

“Now, forget all pain and relax in peace.” Local UML leaders came to visit him. Nepal spent the night in Hotel Mirabel.

This morning, accompanied by party cadres Nepal went for a walk to Devisthan two km away from the hotel to have a view of Kavre Danda and the snowy Himalayan range. On the way back, he waved at all those party cadres he recognised. One party cadre remarked to this journalist, “He has come here to erase the memory of his defeat in the CA polls.”

Nepal contested from his home district Rautahat and Kathmandu Constituency No 2, losing both. Only two of the 15 UML standing committee members managed to win. Seven UML ministers who lost in the CA polls have quit the government.

When media persons started arriving at Hotel Mirabel, Nepal told them that he had come there on personal business. Some entrepreneurs also called on him. “I came here to relax and think with an open mind,” he told them, adding that everyone needed to be as far away as possible from stress and terror.

Referring obliquely to the Maoists without naming them, Nepal said, “By pulling down others, the ones who are climbing up won’t create a new Nepal. A person like me can’t stay away from politics. We had short-term perspective but now we will take care to develop long-term perspective too.”

Asked whether his party would rejoin the government, Nepal said that his party would cooperate in drafting a new statute but they would have to think whether to rejoin the government or not. He urged party cadres and UML supporters not to get disheartened and said, “Here, I feel a sense of relief and peace.” At 4 pm today, Nepal left for Kathmandu.