Gorkha, March 30:

The Gorkha Durbar sits atop a neighbouring hillock just above the Gorkha district headquarters, at Prithvi Narayan municipality, named after the founder of the Shah dynasty regime in Nepal.

The centuries-old Durbar, heavily guarded by security personnel round the clock, stands as a centre of attraction for tourists visiting Gorkha, and a bone of contention for the political parties contesting the constituent assembly election on April 10.

The majority of these parties have vowed to turn Nepal into a federal republic after the election and are engaged in half-hearted campaigns as the district looks less prepared for the polls.

Voters’s understanding of the CA election is low and party workers say Maoists have been disturbing their electoral campaigns, limiting key candidates within the peripheries of the district headquarters.

The general public will not be able to cast their ballots in a free and fearless manner, they caution.

However, Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist appear locked in close contests in the three constituencies of this high profile district with 249,945 voters, 125,437 of them female. A total of 27 candidates vying for the post from the three constituencies.

Rather little is heard of the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, running parallel with Congress and Maoists in most other constituencies and districts in western Nepal.

Congress’s Chiranjivi Wagle, who defeated a series of new candidates in the three parliamentary elections, faces a hard nut this time - Parbati Thapa Shrestha from the Maoist, who has a strong following among the Magar. UML has fielded Babu Ram Thapa.

Wagle, who defeated UML in 1999, Rastriya Prajatantra Party in 1994, and Janamorcha Nepal in 1991, has been confined within the municipality areas by Maoist activists.

He has not even been able to go to his own vote bank in the neighbouring village development committees, according to Nepali Congress workers in the campaign.

Wagle was attacked in Ashrang and returned from Bhairung village, known as his vote bank in constituency no 1.

In constituency no 2, Dr Baburam Bhattarai contests against his maternal uncle Chandra Prasad Neupane from NC and UML’s Hari Prasad Kaphle. Maoists have forged an electoral alliance with Janamorcha Nepal. Bhattarai, appears stronger than UML and NC in this constituency with 85,243 voters.

It’s a do or die battle for Bhattarai there, activists from the rival parties say, but Bhattarai himself and his party is confident of a landslide victory.

He could attract considerable chunk of the UML and NC

votes here.

In constituency no 3, Nepali Congress has replayed Chin Kaji Shrestha, elected twice in 1991 and 1994 but replaced by Hari Lal Joshi in 1999.

This constituency, largest in terms of geography and rather remote on the north-eastern side, looks under the control of Maoist candidate Amar Bahadur Gurung (Tamu). Maoists have denied access to UML campaigners beyond Manbu and Barpak VDCs, about one and a half day’s walk north-east of the district headquarters.

Tamu is also a member of

the the Tamu State Council,

one of the autonomous provinces named by the Maoists after the Gurung,

who command a majority in this largely hilly district.