Poll goals differ for parties

By TNW correspondent

Election partnership dominates the current political scenario but the poll-goals are not the same for all coalition-members. According to a senior politician, the ruling coalition itself has five different targets.

“Nepali Congress aims at gaining strength to form government, Maoist Centre eyes for being upgraded to king-making role, CPN Unified Socialist looks for retaining current federal status, the Janata Samajwadi Party seeks to emerge as a representative force of Madhesh and Rastriya Janamorcha longs to have continued parliamentary presence.”

Opposition party CPN UML  and its potential poll partner Rastriya Prajatantra Party also have their own agenda inside the potential partnership. The former vies for repeating a decisive 2017 performance while the latter hopes for reestablishing itself as force in national politics.

The others, according to a media analyst, are also trying to work out poll partnership strategy for their own existence. The mandatory threshold of at least one seat in federal parliament for emerging as a national political entity appears to be an uphill task for various parties registered for 2022 polls. The 3 percent margin of total votes in proportional representation system is another challenge for them.

Because of those conditions, several small parties and leaders who figured prominently in Nepali politics during the Constituent Assembly times, could not play significant role after 2017 elections. They failed to raise their heads over the past five years as well.

The 2022 elections will further filter some small parties and leaders. The politicos much talked in Nepali politics in the past will lose their appeal after the November 20 elections, predicted a media analyst.

“Of course some new comers will emerge as strong politicos in national scene and some political groups will emerge as strong at provincial assembly levels, opined a former member of parliament.