Pokhara, January 19:

Painting anti-poll slogans on the walls of different city-based government offices, the agitating political parties initiated an anti-poll campaign today.

Led by an alternative central member of the Communist Party of Nepal-UML (CPN-UML), Tul Bahadur Gurung, student activists and leaders of different political parties painted anti-poll slogans on the walls of the Western Regional Post Office and Nepal Telecom Office in Mahendrapul of Pokhara.

Chanting slogans against autocracy and the municipal polls, they also took out a rally from the main gate of the Prithvi Narayan Campus, which converged into a corner meeting at the Taxi chowk.

A row ensued briefly between the participants and security personnel as the latter urged them (participant) not to paint the walls. The police cleaned up the walls when the participants left the places.

The Nepali Congress (NC) Dhankuta chapter has formed three committees to disrupt the municipal polls, a report said.

Yesterday, the Bara chapter of the CPN (UML)-affiliated All-Nepal Free Students’ Union (ANNFSU) also formed a poll-boycott committee under the coordination of Jawahir Ansari.

Urging all to boycott the municipal polls, seven political parties staged a rally in Gaighat of Udaypur yesterday, a report said. Addressing the rallyists, Himal Karki, secretary of the Udaypur chapter of the NC, said a poll-boycott committee had been formed.

The CPN-UML Dhanusha chapter also formed a poll-boycott committee today, a report from Janakpurdham said, adding that the committee was headed by Ganga Narayan Yadav, district secretary of the CPN-UML. A meeting of district working committee of the CPN-UML, which was held today, decided to organise a poll-boycott campaign in the wards of the municipality.

The Nepali Congress (Democratic) also formed a poll-boycott committee under the coordination of Ram Saroj Yadav, district president of the party, today.

Meanwhile, issuing a statement, the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandadevi) said: “The party will mobilise its activists hailing from outside the municipality also to disrupt the municipal elections.”

Issuing a statement today, five student unions’ have warned the District Administration and the School Management committee not to establish polling booths in the schools in Makawanpur.