Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Kumar Thapa has urged the voters to give him an opportunity to work for good governance for the next five years.

Talking to media persons after casting his vote at Maitidevi polling centre in Kathmandu Constituency No. 4, he said he would work for good governance for five years if given a chance.

He also said that he got political fulfillment by going to Madhes when he was contesting from Sarlahi-4. He said that although he knew about the hills and Kathmandu, it was Sarlahi-4 that gave him the opportunity to learn about Madhes.

Stating that the situation there is very serious, he promised to start improvement works from the first year.

President Thapa said, “They used to be seen from the outside, but now they have gone to the settlement, watched and stayed with them.” Sarlahi 4 gave me political fulfillment. ’

He said that he came to know that he had to use force from inside while bringing fertilizer to the border. He said that he could not even imagine cutting the subsidy of sugarcane farmers like before, but he learned the lesson only by going there.

He said that while in the government, he would talk about changing the houses of Dalits in Madhes in the first year even if it was cut by cutting the budget of others. “It’s going to cost billions,” he said. Instead, let’s cut the ministry. It is also a shame that I did not know that people were still living in such conditions. ’

He gave a brief comment about his sense of responsibility when he was only a candidate and as prime minister: “It’s fun.

After casting his vote, Gagan Thapa said, “I had voted for Suprabha Ghimire in the first election of the House of Representatives. After that, I was a consistent candidate. My vote will not be counted for me this evening. It was a new experience for me. What makes me happy is that when I was a young man in this place, my parents and friends here gave me the responsibility of doing a job with a lot of love. Today, as I have reached a slightly older age, I am happy to be able to exercise my right to the same age as Sachin Timalsena, who was then my age, to exercise my right to work as I did yesterday. ’

Referring to a minor clash that took place at two polling stations in Sarlahi-4, Thapa said, “There was minor tension in two polling stations. They immediately sat down and said that the discussion has already taken place. I also told my friends in the administration yesterday that no matter what the track record of this constituency has been in the past, this time there has not been any incident in the run-up to Election Day. Everyone has said that the first time you came here, there has been a very decent publicity. You didn’t try to provoke, you tried to provoke from time to time. I said I shouldn’t be provocative. Even today, I won’t let that happen. I believe that if there is a little bit of stress, we will handle it. Because the Nepali Congress is the main party there. We have a role to play in preventing that from happening. ’

Asked what the voters of Kathmandu-4 are saying, Thapa said, “I have not been able to have such an interaction. When I met some people in the booth, they said that they had voted for you earlier but now they are voting for Sachin. Some are worried about Sarlahi 4. While campaigning in Sarlahi, 10-12 people went every day. I was also happy. It’s nice to have friends here. Some voters are angry. I’m going to raise a family. I have not left this place. I needed to have a personal experience. I did politics here. My thinking should change when I join the government and sit in the parliament. ’

He also said that he learned a lot by going to Madhesh. “I had to go to Madhes to broaden myself. What I have realized in the last 10-12 days is that I have only a few percent of the knowledge I have about Madhes when I have been in politics from Kathmandu for so many years. The diversity of the society within it, the problems within it, the structure, so many things within it. Now that I have the opportunity to understand all of these things and have the opportunity to represent them, my role for the nation is even greater. ’

“I have experienced Kathmandu for so many years. I have all the experience of the mountains. I am very happy to experience Madhes. Ours is a diverse country. In a diverse country, because of the policies I take, because of the decisions I make, I am in such a position that I can draw the same point of view everywhere. I also know about the mountains. I also know the city. I also know about the village. I wouldn’t have been able to say this if I hadn’t gone to Madhes. ’