The road to Dakshinkali is usually quiet. But last week a convoy of seven Boleros were raising a dust storm as they roared through with all the bandobast of a Gyanendra entourage. This wasn't the king going to Dakhinkali, though, it was Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the self-styled first president of the republic of Nepal.

The SUVs roared through forests and fields below Chandragiri, past monasteries, temples and the ghostly relic of an abandoned cement factory. In accordance with the electoral commission's orders, the YCL have been white-washing wall slogans, but the paint is thin and anyone can still read the 'Prachanda for President' letters underneath.

This is Kathmandu's Contituency 10 which stretches for 25km south of the capital and is the second seat Dahal is contesting apart from his stronghold in Rolpa. At Pharping. Comrade Chairman was greeted by five maidens, and adorned with red tika and marigold garlands. Party flags fluttered in the fields, banners were strung from rooftops.

Tsering Lama, a monk at a nearby monastery was waiting to shake Dahal's hand. "I take his visit as a good sign. No one else has come here yet," he told Nepali Times. Lama says he isn't interested in politics but is willing to give Dahal a chance. "Let's see if he can prove himself," he said, "all the previous leaders who won from here never came back."

Gopal Lama, a shopkeeper, is more skeptical. "I can't depend on these politicians. I just hope they will just give us an opportunity to work in peace," he said. But even Lama says he will vote for the Maoists, not because he has great hopes of them, but because they are the only fresh thing on the menu.

At a dusty school playground, Dahal went to the mic to address a crowd of 700 people waiting in the bright sun. "I am ecstatic to be here," he began, "the Nepali people have never won in the true sense. The politicians always won, but the people lost. This time it will not be me who is winning, it will be you the people."

Dahal, and Nepal, have come a long way. Less than two years ago, he was the most wanted man in Nepal with a price on his head and even sought by Interpol on terrorism charges. He represented a party that killed people who didn't agree with it. And here he is, on the campaign trail, asking for votes like everyone else.

Dahal said his main focus would be on education, public health and employment for all. He proposed a four-lane highway from Kathmandu to Hetauda via Dakshinkali, and even promised a railway link from Tibet to Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Lumbini.

Not everyone was impressed. Twenty-three-year old Sanu Kancha Tamang was also skeptical: "Him as the future president is a stupid idea. This election is about writing a new constitution, not electing a president."

Prakash Thapa, a local schoolteacher said, "He is like the others, blaming everyone but himself. We wanted to hear what he will do for us."

As the shadows lengthened, Dahal walked to his dust-covered SUV to return to Kathmandu for the release his party's manifesto that has his picture on the back cover with the caption, 'First President of a New Republican Nepal, Chairman Comrade Prachanda'.