Connectivity with people

Reviewed from the perspective of connectivity with people, most political parties currently approaching the general and provincial elections have much to worry about. Many of them have not yet been able to focus on that matter. They appear too busy managing positions for leaders and those who are close to them in point of loyalty. Politics should have been for service to the people; it should have been directed by efforts to address the issues troubling them. But unfortunately in Nepal politics has been just a matter of arranging chair for top leaders and those who are in their inner circle. A glimpse of the same is visible at the moment, barely ninety days before the polling day. As time goes by political parties will rush to prepare an election manifesto, launch it and re-approach people in nearly five-yearly cycle with lots of dream-offers. People know the trend and they have now not expected much from the politicians. The media, civil society and general people talk of lack of trust on politicians, – something very serious in times before election. Politicos have therefore a great duty of restoring the trust level by accessing people in a different meaningful tone this time. They have to convince people that their vote is meaningful and their representative could make a difference in the nation-building task in the second cycle of federalism in the country. They have to re-establish the connectivity with people in an effective way. They have to play result-oriented role in making people participate in the electoral process in a meaningful manner. Democracy in the country could be strengthened through the participation of the people. For that there should be regular connectivity between the people and the politicos. The disconnection between them would be very costly for the political parties. It could be instrumental in eroding the base of federalism in the country. Keeping in view all these points, political parties should from now on concentrate on linking with people and attempting to tackle the problems they are facing. Prominent among the issues would be the unemployment, corruption, lack of good governance, failure to deliver public services promptly and poor performance in development works. Challenges such as coping with public health crisis, climate change, disaster risk management, gender equality and equity should also be taken up and appropriate intervention should be made in time. The tendency to ignore the above issues should be left out. False pledging just before polls is also not a right poll strategy. All those who join campaigning should understand it clearly.