Ramechhap, November 5

Ramechhap district has witnessed low voter participation in election-related activities conducted by party candidates for the upcoming polls.

The parties and candidates have failed to lure voters to participate in election publicity campaigns.

It is reported that a minimum number of voters participated in election-related programmes organised in more than 20 wards of the district.

The left and democratic alliances were unable to organise mass meetings due to low turnout of voters. “We meet the voters, but cannot create an enthusiastic election environment,” said CPN-UML district Secretary Ananda Shrestha.

The left alliance has reduced the number of cadres deployed for election-related activities in the villages. Shrestha said voters were busy harvesting paddy and other seasonal crops and did not have time for the candidates. “Voters were giving priority to their work rather than election campaigns,” he added.

Mayor of Ramechhap Municipality Nar Bahadur Magar, said voters’ enthusiasm for election publicity campaign has been minimum. “We organised the programmes, but voter participation was unexpectedly low,” Magar added.

Purna Bahadur Tamang from NC and Shyam Kumar Shrestha from the left alliance have filed their nominations to contest the parliamentary poll in Ramechhap’s single constituency.

Shanti Prasad Poudel and Kailash Dhungle from the left alliance, and NC’s Ratna Bahadur Karki and Jit Bahadur Magarm, are set to contest the provincial seats.

Nepali Congress candidates have completed their publicity campaigns in Ramechhap Municipality, Sukajore, Okharene, Rampur, Himganga, Gothgaun, Salu, Sunarpati, and Kathjore, among other villages, while campaigns in villages of Manthali municipality are under way. The left alliance has also been running its election campaigns in the same villages as the NC.

It is said smaller political parties have not launched election publicity campaigns in the district.