Rudra Khadka

August 24: The efforts of the political parties to forge electoral alliance for the upcoming federal and state elections to be held on November 20 will be disastrous for economic prosperity, progress and democracy. By introducing such a practice in Nepal, which is rare in the world, political parties are trying not to change the society, but only their fortune. If the parties take part in the elections by forming an alliance, it will not bring any significant change.

For example, if the number of people who are known to be good and honest in the society is 49 percent, but 51 percent of the bad people form an alliance, the good people are bound to be defeated. The effort to forge the coalition between the ruling and opposition parties is not for a cause, but rather to win seats for those who get the ticket with the blessing of the top leaders. Some of the leaders who are willing to form an alliance say that the current alliance may not be maintained after the election. The alliance that is formed now is not motivated by any new purpose, but is intended to win the elections for those who are in power and have been there many times before. The history is evident that economic prosperity is not possible with the efforts of those who are currently in power or those who have experienced power. New thinking and planning is needed for the economic prosperity and progress of Nepal.

Some may raise a question here - if the election itself cannot be won, how can good or progressive work be done? However, what everyone realizes is that if the objective is to win the election and form the government, then after winning, they have neither the interest nor the morale to do more than that. After it is confirmed that there will be no change from what is seen now, there will be no achievement again from those people who win with the backup of electoral alliance.

If the parties want to bring a change or if they want to work for the welfare of the country and the people, they should participate in the elections with their own agenda and plans, not through alliances.

In the case of a consensus parliament, the parties run coalition governments in other countries of the world as well. However, most of them compete in the elections alone. After the election, they share power only when the government is formed. They do not secure their position by making alliances before the elections.

In politics, one should aim to work for the good of the country and the people. The goal should not be just to form the government and reach the position of personal benefit. It is useless for others to expect innovation or progress from individuals or organizations that do not have the ability to compete. Therefore, since the parties are currently preparing for the upcoming elections, they should try to participate in the elections alone rather than by forming a coalition. The parties should get their agenda approved by the people. Only if this can be done, the real meaning of democracy will suffice.

Arguably, there will be no innovation if only the weak or the powerful try to get along with each other, win elections and run the government. At such a time, it is necessary for the youth in different political parties to be active.

General secretary duo of Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma have set an example how success can be achieved due to the active role of the youth. Likewise, the victory of Balen Shah for the post of Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s mayor oduring the local elections held a few months ago is another precedent.

It is useless to say that there is democracy in the country until the Nepali citizens can feel the change. Due to the governance system adopted by Nepal, it is definitely difficult for any party to get majority votes. The act of participating and winning the election by forming alliances cannot be considered a democratic move.

The five ruling parties Nepali Congress, CPN Maoist Center, CPN United Socialist, Janata Samajwadi Party and Rastriya Jana Morcha have decided to participate in the upcoming election by forging an electoral alliance and are currently engaged in allocation of seats. In the same way, the main opposition CPN-UML is also trying to find out whether it is possible to form an alliance with other parties including RPP. Apart from these, other small parties are also trying to cooperate with various parties to win the elections.