What a joke... This reminded me of the time when 34 candidates - all from different walks of life, filed for the post of prime minister one and half yr ago... I cant help laughing.. hahahaha ---------------------------------------------------- Colorful candidates mark the day Kantipur Report KATHMANDU, Jan 27 - Radha Upadhyay, a peon at a school, knows little about politics and democracy. Nor has she any idea of what Dr Tulsi Giri calls - "re-energization of democracy". She filed her candidature for the post of chairman of ward 4 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City in the upcoming municipal elections. But it was not to participate in democracy, but to "please" her boss, the school headmaster of Basuki School at Pashupati Temple area. Unlike most candidates who avoided journalists and cameramen, she faced questions from the media with elan, like a seasoned politician. Well almost. "My headmaster is here and I filed my nomination as per the request of my headmaster,” Upadhyay told journalists, as she emerged from the City Hall gate. "I do not know any politics and democracy." When asked why she filed her candidature, she said, "The school does not give money to me." Was it for money then? She shied away and declined to say anything. Sushma Sharma Baral of Nepali Shanti Kshetra Parishad wanted to become mayor of Kathmandu. So she went inside the City Hall. But returned soon. Chairman Baral's reasoning was there was some technical problem about her 'party'. But her 'party member', some Ghanendra Basnet, said Baral's name did not figure in the voters' list! A candidate who had arrived at Bhaktapur election office to file his papers was not allowed in after policemen contacted the officials inside. The reason? He had come with a banner which read jana ganatantra (people's republic). The scene before the election offices was marked by conspicuous absence of political activity surrounding the filing of nominations. No sloganeering. No political activists. Three fresh posters calling people to take part in the election were posted on the wall outside the office. A sack of flags belonging to Nepal Samata Party was lying against the wall. Police were posted along the Bhrikutimandap Road and only 'candidates' who whispered into the waiting policemen's ears were allowed to enter the City Hall premises. After the EC officials accepted their applications, all the candidates were taken upstairs and briefed about security arrangements. The candidates said they risked their life for the nation but said they would consult the Home Minsiter again in connection with security. When asked about how he can go to the people for votes, Shanta Lal Karmacharya, a Social Democratic Party candidate for Mayor's post said, "It is the cadres who go door to door for votes." Most aspiring candidates declined to reveal their identity too. The police then let them go without checking. In Banepa Municipality, it was strictly a family affair. Ganesh Lal Shrestha and his wife Lila Devi Shrestha were the only ones to file for the post of mayor and deputy mayor. It was another husband and wife affair in Nepalgunj, but of a different kind. Bhuwan Krishna Shrestha, who filed his candidature for the post of mayor in Nepalgunj Municipality, decided to withdraw his candidacy as his wife reached the election office, weeping. He is the district president of Rastrabadi Milan Kendra. Zonal Administrator Min Bahadur Pal and Chief District Officer of Nepalgunj, Binod Adhikari, were very frantic throughout the day. They were busy searching for possible candidates. Then Pal called an emergency meeting of royalists and forced three royalists to file their candidacy. The BBC Nepali Service reported that police escorted aspiring candidates to the election office. Posted on: 2006-01-26 19:50:11 http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=63789