Kathmandu, January 13:

Alliance leaders today asserted that the coming municipal elections would be “thoroughly unsuccessful”, compelling the King to “relinquish” authority to the people.

Leaders claimed that since the seven-party alliance has already initiated a nationwide “door-to-door” campaign to actively boycott the municipal elections, people’s participation would be “nil”.

Saying that the municipal elections would neither correct the February 1 political development nor what the King had said about “unconstitutional appointments” of regional administrators, CPN-UML standing committee member Bharat Mohan Adhikari accused the government of trying to sideline political parties in the name of elections.

“Be assured, there will be no polls,” Adhikari told an interaction at the Sambad Club here today, challenging the King to face elections to the constituent assembly rather than conducting “meaningless” municipal polls.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) spokesperson, Parsuram Khapung, who reiterated the party’s stance of consensus, accused the government of being least bothered about reconciliation. “We have been insisting on consensus among constitutional forces but the government is not for that,” he alleged.

Khapung also lambasted the RPP dissidents for “misusing” government machinery and “influencing” the Election Commission.

General secretary of Janamorcha Nepal, Navaraj Subedi said no national or international force could stop the people from moving towards total democracy. Subedi added it was now up to the King either to go for reconciliation with political forces or to get “swept away”.