People living in Madhes, including industrialists and businessmen, have been worried after the Sanghiya Gathabandhan announced protests to foil the May 14 local elections.

The Madhes region will continue to remain tense if the government fails to conduct the elections convincing the agitating Madhesi parties, locals of Birgunj said. The Gathabandhan—an alliance of ethnic and Madhesi forces—announced an indefinite general strike beginning May 10 to obstruct the polls at a press meet in the Capital on Sunday.

Thirty-two-year-old barber working at Maisthan in Birgunj said he was planning to shift his family to Narayangadh citing that he had been to Chitwan and worked there for four and half months during the six-month-long Madhes banda last year. “The Madhesi leaders are not aware of our problems. I have to feed my family members working on a daily basis, but the leaders do not understand this,” he said.

A representative of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that the Gathabandhan’s announcement could have an adverse effect on the economy. “The agitating parties and the government should forge a consensus to end the deadlock,” the representative said, requesting anonimity.

“As leaders could not take a proper decision on time, politics of Madhes has been pushed into chaos,” he continued. “Madhesi people have already faced three protests in which more than 100 people were killed in the name of obtaining Madhesi identity and rights within a decade.

Bhramadev Yadav of Jagarnathpur in Birgunj Sub-metropolis expressed fear the local polls could not be held under the current circumstances. “It will be difficult to hold the elections if the Madhes-based parties are not brought on board,” he said.

Experts from the plains said that the Madhesi Morcha will participate in the local polls if the government does proper homework to finalise the issues like citizenship, language and the representation of Madhes in the National Assembly.

The Morcha will agree to take part in the elections if the government hand overs the rights to State Assembly to finalise the issue of state demarcation, Rabindranath Thakur said. “Madhesi parties should also be flexible for talks. If the elections are not held, extremist and secessionist forces will take advantage of the situation,” he said.