BIKRAM RAI
NO RUSH: The newly widened and paved street in Gyaneswor looks clear on a weekend, but is gridlocked at rush hour.
Now that elections look more probable after the rains end, the parties are getting serious. Anyway you look at it, the frontline of the November polls will be the Tarai. While the NC and UML have largely written themselves off the plains vote, the Maoists and Madhesis are targeting the Tarai. Which also brings them into a collision course as they vie for the same votes. Madhesi leaders may not be able to stand each other, but they also know that divided they fall.
Most Nepalis, however, have more pressing matters and couldn’t care less about elections. Party leaders have done their best in the past to convince voters of their incompetence. The polarisation is now so intense that the chances of a free, fair, and violence free polls are iffy. Some leaders are already complaining about the Election Commission’s code of conduct that bans helicopters and excessive expenses during campaigning.
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