The Nepali Congress has condemned an attack on its senior leader and candidate for Tanahu-1 Ram Chandra Poudel. An unidentified group hurled a pressure cooker bomb targeting Poudel’s vehicle on Saturday at Bhanu Munaciplity-10, Nepaldanda. Poudel was on the way to his home town and ultimately Lamjung after attending a mass meeting in Tanahun.

His vehicle was damaged while Poudel is safe, the NC said. Some of the security personnel guarding Poudel also sustained injuries in the blast.

“There has been a nationwide wave in favour of the NC and the public support is growing. Some elements who do not want the NC to be victorious in the upcoming polls are targeting Congress leaders,” the statement reads. 

An election rally led by senior Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat also came under attack at Kakani in Nuwakot on Friday. Half a dozen NC cadres injured in the explosion are receiving care at the Kathmandu-based Grande International Hospital.

The NC claimed that Saturday’s incident in Tanahun was a bid on Poudel’s life and also a direct attack on the people’s right to vote. The governing party has demanded arrest of the culprits and treatment for the injured.