SURKHET, Nov 19: The main political parties competing in the upcoming House of Representatives and State Assembly election have intensified their poll campaign Surkhet district.

All the candidates contesting the upcoming parliamentary and province assembly polls are canvassing for votes reaching village after village in the district, giving assurances of development and employment to the voters.

Central leaders to party cadres of Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Center) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), among other parties are busy in the door-to-door visits as part of the election campaign, wooing voters to vote for their respective candidates.

Every candidate is giving assurances to the voters to bring development and economic prosperity in their locality. Development has become the common agenda of the parties in this election.

The election has been seen with special priority in the district also because Surkhet has been picked as the state capital of Province- 6.

Political parties and their candidates have made addressing various problems in the district as their priority. These include construction of a four-lane ring road, construction of a project to pump in water from the Bheri river to Surkhet, resolving the water supply problem and tourism development including promotion of tourism by managing Kankrebihar area, an archaeological and touristic site in Surkhet.

Nepali Congress’ candidate for the House of Representatives election from Surkhet constituency-1, Purna Bahadur Khadka has said his candidacy was for the prosperity of Surkhet.

“I pledge for quality, balanced and judicious development, constructing roads connecting all wards of the municipality within five years and expanding communication services,” he said, talking of his plans. He also said his priority would also be construction of hospitals, schools, colleges and other development infrastructures in the rural areas. Expansion of roadways and upgrading the local airport are also on Khadka’s list of priorities.

The Nepali Congress, the leftist alliance, RPP, the Bibekshil Sajha Party are contesting the election on similar election platform. They have focused on resettlement of the flood affected and the landless squatters, construction of the two-lane Surkhet-Nepalgunj road and developing Surkhet as an educational, health, tourism and cultural hub as their election agenda. RSS

Birendranagar: Two bombs have been recovered in Surkhet’s headquarters Birendranagar this morning. The bombs were planted at the main market of Birendranagar coinciding with the visit of UCPN (Maoist) leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai here for an election campaign. The bombs have been planted by the poll-opposing outfits when Dr Bhattarai was en route for the airport.  A Bomb Disposal Team of Nepal Army has diffused the bombs. The Police said that investigations into the case are underway.
Meanwhile, CPN-Maoist has called bandha in Surkhet protesting the visit of UCPN (Maoist) chairperson scheduled for tomorrow and the arrest of its leaders and cadres.
The market has remained shut and the transportation has come to a halt from the early morning due to the bandha.

Earlier, Police had filed a case against CPN-Maoist Surkhet deputy-secretary Ishwor Bhakta Sunar, CPN-Maoist aligned All Nepal Teachers Association district chairman Ragbir Biswokarma and party’s district committee member Hari Lal Maharjan on the public offence for inflicting violence.