Deuba for delicate balance on local polls

By TNW correspondent

Prime Minister Deuba is learnt to have finalized the approach to having local polls prior to parliamentary elections at the end of the year. Deuba is facing pressure from his party and alliance-partners for delaying the municipality elections until parliamentary polls.

Local polls are to be held soon prior to the end of tenure of office bearers elected five years ago. If the polls are not held there is no clear provision for running the local government particularly in matters of budget, planning and other acts to be performed by the municipalities –rural and urban.

The Maoist Centre and the CPN Unified Socialist are pressing for delaying local polls for enabling them to prepare for the polls in a better manner. Moreover, they want to have the parliamentary polls first and then they would like to have the local polls. They appear not sensitive to the urgency of local polls in the federal paraphernalia being pursued in the country.

Other political parties appear not to have any stand regarding the timing of two polls; they look ready to take any election in the year 2022.

The Election Commission has already taken initiative in having talks with the political parties on the polls suggesting them the dates and other provisions for local polls.

As per the dynamics of politics obtaining in the country the ruling alliance is in need of approaching the polls in a joint manner in a bid not to allow CPN UML emerge as a single largest party in the polls. If the alliance partners go to polls in their individual capacities, the opposition party could emerge as the single largest party, say senior politicos referring to the base remained intact even after the division among the leftist forces.

A joint approach to polls for Nepali Congress is what its youth leaders do not want. They are pressing PM Deuba to face polls on their own without having any poll understanding with any party.

Small parties on the other hand are also trying some sort of alliance among themselves in order not to be eliminated from parliamentary representation like in the polls five years ago