Excerpts from an interview with Rajendra Mahato, general secretary, Nepal Sadbhabana Party.

Major issues include the matter of citizenship, and the policy of reservations. There are other issues like enlistment in the army. We say take people in from all the communities that have been excluded so far-the madhesis, the Newars. We need to have a battalion for Tamangs, one for Gurungs, and also battalions for people from other groups.

.What we are saying is that let us not take what belongs to others, but let us all use what is ours. When we talk of regional government, we are not talking of the plains alone, but of the same all over the country. For example, we are talking about five autonomous regions (the Maoists are talking about 12)-the Eastern Hills, Western Hills, Eastern Tarai, Western Tarai and Kathmandu Valley. The people of the two Terai regions will govern themselves, and the people of the two hill regions will do that for themselves; and Kathmandu Valley will also be run the same way.

.People say that the country will disintegrate if you split it up into regions or grant regional autonomy, that the nation will cease to be. [We believe] regional autonomy is compulsory for the integrity of the nation and to truly save the country. This country does not belong to two groups, how can 15 percent rule while 85 percent continue to suffer?

.We have generally been getting about 300,000-400,000 votes in elections when at least 60 percent of the tarai's one million might be voters. Why are we getting only 400,000 votes when we should have been getting 6 million? The larger parties have told the people of the tarai that the NSP is a small party, that it will never form government and will never be able to solve your problems. They promise that they will bring solutions. The people believed them.

Now, after being promised things and then neglected, the people are beginning to think otherwise. There were 40 madhesis in parliament who won running on a platform that emphasised their madhesi identity. Five of them were from the NSP and the rest were from other parties. These other MPs obtained their tickets because they were from the tarai. They said that the NSP is not the only party with madhesis, we are also here, and we will resolve your problems. But the people have seen what these 35 other MPs have done for them.