Nepalese from remote areas demand development in election campaign

Major concerns for people who reside in the remote parts of Nepal in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) election are development, economic prosperity and employment generation, political leaders and locals from different districts told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Nepal is holding an election to elect the members of the CA for the promulgation of a new constitution on Nov. 19. Rather than political agendas, however, people are more concerned about issues directly related to their daily life, such as poverty reduction and infrastructure development.

"We want the employment, construction of roads, hydropower projects and economic prosperity," said Ramesh Rijal, a farmer in the western district of Tanahun, 200 km away from the capital city of Kathmandu. More than a dozen people Xinhua spoke to shared Rijal's concerns.

"I do not have the hope that parties will promulgate a new constitution, so the important thing is to pay attention to the development of remote areas," said Ram Dhakal, a local resident from a remote area of western Nepal.

People voted with the hope that CA would promulgate a new constitution in the 2008 CA election. However, it was dissolved last year without delivering a new constitution which instilled pessimism in people living at remote areas of the country.

Candidates in the canvassing are trying to convince the people that if elected, they will give priority to development agendas. Nepal's political parties have mobilized their cadres in 240 electoral constituencies for the upcoming election.

"I have given priority to the development of my region as well as providing employment to youths," Nepali Congress (NC) Vice- President Ram Chandra Poudel, who is contesting election from western Nepal, told his voters on Wednesday.

Parties in the remote areas are also competing to win the heart and minds of the people. Party cadres are attacking and thrashing the cadres of each other to increase their dominance in the electoral constituencies.

Security agencies are working hard to prevent possible violence at the local level. But security personnel are poorly equipped in the remote areas.