Kathmandu, September 3

Major political parties — the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre said they would not forge alliance in the phase III local level polls at the central-level, saying that such collaboration does not work in the civic polls.

Those parties said that alliances made in first and second phase of local level elections did not work out. They however, said they would welcome collaborations if made by the local committees.

“We do not have policy of forging alliance at the central level,” said NC party Secretary Krishna Prasad Paudel, adding that the party would welcome if poll alliance was made by local committees to elect party leaders in the elections. Paudel said that he did not see possibility of allying with other parties at the central level.

According to Poudel, the NC had finalised names of candidates for majority of local levels and had sent tickets to those candidates. “We will finalise candidates of the remaining local levels as soon as possible,” added Paudel.

The third phase of local level polls is slated for September 18 in 136 local levels of eight districts of Province 2.

UML leader Shree Prasad Shah said his party would try to forge alliance at the local level but the party would not announce collaboration as in the past from the central level. “We are trying to forge alliance with all the parties except the NC,” said Shah. He said his party would complete the selection of candidates soon.

The CPN-MC leader Matrika Yadav said his party would not declare alliance in any particular local level as in the past but encourage local committee to forge alliance to win seats. “Some of our local committees are close to allying with the NC and other Madhesi parties,” said Yadav. He said that the party’s central leadership will not pressure local committees to collaborate with other parties and those committees were free to take decision.

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal leader Keshav Jha said that his party also did not have a policy of forging alliance from the central-level but would welcome if local committees made alliances to elect party candidates. He said that his party would welcome alliance with other Madhes-based parties such as Federal socialist Forum and Nepal Democratic Forum if they were forged by local committees.

Similarly, the Kamal Thapa-led Rastriya Prajatantra Party Spokesperson Bhuvan Pathak said that his party has been mulling alliance with the UML, Nepal Democratic Forum and RJP-N in the third phase of elections.

Likewise, the Pashupati Shumsher JB Rana led Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Democratic leader Ram Chandra Raya said that the party has planning to collaborate locally with the NC and other Madhesi parties for the civic polls.