SURKHET: The main political parties competing in the upcoming House of Representatives and State Assembly elections have intensified their poll campaign in the district.

They are vigorously canvassing for votes reaching village after village in the district, giving assurances of development and employment to the voters.

Central leaders to party cadres of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, the CPN Maoist Centre and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, among other parties are busy in the door-to-door visits as part of the election campaign, wooing voters to vote for their respective candidates.

Every candidate is giving assurances to the voters to bring development and economic prosperity in their locality. Development has become the common agenda of the parties in this election.

The election has been seen with special priority in the district also because Surkhet has been picked as the state capital of Province- 6.

Political parties and their candidates have made addressing various problems in the district as their priority. These include construction of a four-lane ring road, construction of a project to pump in water from the Bheri river to Surkhet, resolving the water supply problem and tourism development including promotion of tourism by managing Kankrebihar area, an archaeological and touristic site in Surkhet.

Nepali Congress' candidate for the House of Representatives election from Surkhet constituency-1, Purna Bahadur Khadka has said his candidacy was for the prosperity of Surkhet.

"I pledge for quality, balanced and judicious development, constructing roads connecting all wards of the municipality within five years and expanding communication services," he said, informing about his plans. He also said his priority would also be construction of hospitals, schools, colleges and other development infrastructures in the rural areas. Expansion of roadways and upgrading the local airport are also on Khadka's list of priorities.

The Nepali Congress, the leftist alliance, RPP, the Bibeksheel Sajha Party are contesting the election on similar election platform. They have focused on resettlement of the flood affected and the landless squatters, construction of the two-lane Surkhet-Nepalgunj road and developing Surkhet as an educational, health, tourism and cultural hub as their election agenda.