Broken promises

Despite its central role in Nepali politics, parties continue to see Madhesh just as a vote bank.

The political outreach to Madhesh of political forces has intensified in the run up to the March 5 elections. Rastriya Swantantra Party (RSP) senior leader Balendra Shah chose to hide his Madheshi identity while contesting for Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor. Now, he projects himself as a son of Madhesh. In a mass address in Janakpur in the third week of January, Shah and other RSP leaders appealed to people to vote for the party in order to elect the ‘first prime minister from Madhesh’. The Nepali Congress, on the other hand, has fielded its president, Gagan Thapa, from Sarlahi-4. He claims to have moved away from a comfortable seat in Kathmandu-5 with the larger goal of transforming the entire Madhesh region. The grand old party has also chosen Janakpur, the provincial headquarters, to unveil its election manifesto. With more than two weeks still to go to the vote, other parties are expected to come up with similar targeting of the Madheshi constituency.