National
In Morang-6, Koirala, Pandit set for tough fight
When the country votes in the second phase of federal elections on December 7, Morang-6 will be one of the constituencies that will draw huge attention.Binod Bhandari & Madhav Ghimire
When the country votes in the second phase of federal elections on December 7, Morang-6 will be one of the constituencies that will draw huge attention.
The district considered the Koirala clan’s stronghold will see a battle between Nepali Congress (NC)’s Shekhar Koirala and CPN-UML’s Lalbabu Pandit, a former minister who earned quite an accolade during his term as the minister for general administration for his efforts to bring about sweeping reforms in the civil service.
The constituency is set to see a two-way fight between Koirala and Pandit, as the latter is the common candidate of the left alliance of the UML and CPN (Maoist Centre).
“People will certainly vote for a democratic alliance,” claimed Koirala. “The left alliance of the communist forces attempts to impose one-party rule and I am sure people will foil their bid,” said Koirala. “Hence the NC will certainly get people’s support,” he said, adding that strengthening democracy and protecting nationality, sovereignty and independence of the country are his party’s main agendas.
Pandit, however, is banking on his clean image and the popularity he had gained during his stint at the Ministry of General Administration. He is considered one of the honest leaders across the political spectrum and is known for his simplicity.
“I don’t need to create a new image; people know me by my work,” Pandit told the Post, claiming that the left alliance has 1,500 more votes than the NC in Morang. His calculation is based on the vote shares of the UML and the Maoist Centre during local elections.
But it must be noted that Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, an influential leader from the Madhes region, has joined the NC. Gachhadar enjoys good clout in Morang. He was elected from then Morang-7 (which has now become Morang-6) and Sunsari-3 in the first Constituent Assembly elections on the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum ticket, as he had quit the NC then. Gachhadar and Koirala were pitted against each other then.
After Gachhadar vacated the Morang constituency, Koirala won in the by-election. In the second CA elections, Koirala had defeated Gachhadar in the same constituency.
UML’s Pandit had won the 1991 and 1999 elections from Morang-3.
In 2008 and 2013, he was elected Constituent Assembly member under the proportional representation category.
It is going to be tough fight between the NC and the left alliance, Morang people say.
Both the candidates have put “Biratnagar as the provincial capital” on top of their agenda.
Besides, control of flood and inundation, infrastructure development, maintaining social and political harmony among others are their common election agendas.
Morang-6 comprises Wards 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 11 of Biratnagar Metropolis as well as Wards 2 to 7 of Sundar Haraicha Municipality and Budhiganga Rural Municipality.
During the local elections, the NC had garnered 18,890 votes while the UML, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (Gachhadar’s erstwhile party which has merged with the NC) and the Maoist Centre had secured 17,060; 7,915 and 7,866 votes respectively. The Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal had garnered 7,002 votes.
If these votes are taken into account, the NC’s vote share is 26,805 while the left alliance’s is 24,926.