Mustang. Despite the minus degree temperature, election activity is intensifying in Mustang. With the date for the election to the House of Representatives scheduled for March 4 drawing, the election campaign of the political parties and their candidates is in full swing.

Last month, the temperature in Upper Mustang had reached minus 20 degrees Celsius. At present, the election atmosphere is at its peak and the seasonal temperature has been decreasing since February. The temperature in Upper Mustang has dropped to minus 10 degrees Celsius. The temperature in lower Mustang is also at 3 degrees Celsius. However, despite the cold and unfavourable weather, election campaigning is going on in full swing. The election is heating up from Ghansa of lower Mustang to Korala on the Nepal-China border.

Out of the eight political parties that have filed their candidacies in the district, six political parties and their candidates have heated up the election atmosphere. The CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, Nepali Communist Party (NCP), Rastriya Swatantra Party (Rastriya Swatantrik Party), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Ujjyalo Nepal Party have intensified their election campaigns. The Mongol Nepal Organization and the Aam Janata Party and their candidates are also campaigning for the election.

Most of the voters who had come to escape the cold have not returned to the district even as the election date is approaching. Some voters have started moving towards the mountains. The candidates and the party are also making efforts in various ways to bring back the voters.

The candidates have been prioritizing infrastructure development, agriculture, tourism, education and overall development plans of Mustang district. Construction of physical infrastructures including Customs Immigration and Integrated Security Post along Nepal-China North Korala transit point, tourism route and tourism development of Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region of China via Korala checkpoint, scrapping of prohibited and controlled areas of Upper Mustang, modernization of agricultural sector and proper management of wasted land, quality education and educational facilities in all subjects up to bachelor’s degree, roads, bridges, completion of Mustang-Dolpa road and Mustang-Manang roadway. The parties and candidates have been reaching out to the people with commitments including mitigating the climate crisis, well-equipped health infrastructure and human resource management.

Likewise, various issues have been announced to forward the unfinished development plan in the district, to develop youth entrepreneurship and to explore the overall tourism potentials of Mustang and to emphasize on the development of tourism infrastructures. In a bid to woo voters, the candidates have pledged to take initiatives to provide land ownership certificates to landless landless squatters and unsystematic settlers and to re-map the land in Mustang that was not surveyed in 2030 BS.

It is estimated that four political parties will compete in the district this time as the UML and NC are in the lone contest till the 2079 BS elections. Nepali Congress, UML, Nepali Communist Party and Rastriya Swatantra Party are in the main race. However, it is expected that Ujyoko Nepal and Rastriya Prajatantra Party will challenge the main rival parties in the election to win over the voters.

District Election Officer Lokendra Gyawali said that all the preparations for the election have reached the final stage and the political parties are also going door to door with their candidates. He said that the management and division of work of the employees for the election and training of the employees to be deployed in the polling stations have been completed.

An integrated security plan has been implemented in the district for the election. The Nepal Police has deployed 501 security personnel while the Armed Police Force has deployed more than 200 security personnel. Meanwhile, Nepal Army has established election security base camps in Upper Mustang and lower Mustang and has intensified patrolling.