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A new beginning or the same old nightmare?





Well, today is the day Nepal decides whether we are ready for a new beginning or there are still folks who do not want to let go of patronage politics because that's how they have managed to make their lives better in the past two decades, since we somehow became a Republic because 601 folks said so.



Instead of power to the people, those in power have violated every law in this land to make sure that only their near and dear ones enrich themselves, while the rest of the folks have to worry about how to take care of their families. There is no transparency, no accountability, and governance has gone to the dogs.



The kids born in 2008 are now almost 18-year-olds, and their future looks bleak, like it did for the Gen X in 90s and the Gen Y in the 2000s. And if the same Congress, UML, Maoist (CUM) combo looting continues, then Gen Alpha and Beta will have to bear the same fate as the earlier generations did.



Our old political parties have no morals. They will sleep with each other to stay in power, extort from everyone, be it the bureaucracy, the business people and even the common citizens. The country is broke but they are worth billions. 5 million folks are abroad keeping the economy afloat while they live like the cousins of Sultan of Brunei.



When people die in protests, those in power do not show any remorse but instead blame foreign hands for trying to destabilize the country. And the funny thing is that these political parties have themselves joined hand with foreign forces to get into power.



We have given the old parties tons of opportunities to govern us and they have failed miserably again and again. But they still continue to promise us the moon and expect the voters to believe them once again so that they can loot us and shoot us once again.



The UML is in a tough spot. The Oli faction has hijacked the party, and it is because of them that they will lose miserably in this election. Will Balen win? I don't know but he must win if we are to move forward. The battle between the rapper and the grim reaper is not about the old vs the new or the wrinkled balls vs a smooth baller. It is all about moving ahead instead of still being stuck in the past where politicization of all institutions of this country has destroyed this nation.



The Congress and UML still have more than 50% of the votes in the country. They have a strong foundation, and you will find them in every nook and corner of the country, in government offices, schools, hospitals, and businesses. The Maoists are no longer a powerful force, and they have no one to blame but their own Comrade Prachanda for their failure to be relevant today.



What about the RSP? Will RSP get the majority? I don't know, but it looks like they will bag a lot more PR seats this time. If we were to follow the trend, then their popular votes could hit 2.5 to 3 million this time around, which could get them more than 30+ seats from the PR Category.



Will they win 100+ seats in the FPTP category? It is pretty difficult with Congressis coming up with their 2.0 version with Deuba out of the picture. The Congress vote is intact; it is not going anywhere. 50% of the UML votes will go to the RSP this time around. The magic number is 138! I do think that RSP will bag 100+ seats out of total 275 but not a majority. But if they do get the majority then it will be a wake up call to the old parties that it is time for them to hand over the leadership to their young ones rather than the same old ones hogging the seats for the past twenty, thirty years!



So it looks like the RSP and Congress are battling it out, and when the results come, we might either see RSP forming the government with the help of other fringe parties. If RSP and Congress were to join hands to form the government, then it would be back to the same old bhaag-bandaa mili-juli and then break up mid-way nataks. Let us hope this will not happen.



We will find out in a day or two who has come out the winner in this election. The Congress got the majority in 1991 and did not even govern for a full-term not because of external forces but because they fought with each other. The voters did give the Maoists a chance, making them the largest party in the first Constituent Assembly (CA) election, and they screwed it up as well. The UML and Maoist merger had brought in a strong government, but they too broke up because they were not happy with each other over who got to loot what, maybe.



RSP made a grave mistake by joining the government the last time. It should have stayed in the opposition. Rabi Lamichane gets a bad rap from the old party voters, but he still seems to be a popular politician among the masses. They call him a foreigner, a thug, and curse him. It seems that we are allowed to let go of all the past sins of the old political parties, but we have to judge the new ones with such high moral standards that even God would resign and quit for good.


It will not be easy for RSP if it does get into power. Expect the same old Nepal Bandas and a fight back from the Congress-UML bureaucracy. It will not be easy, but they will do all right. And the reason the old parties cadres are calling RSP a foreign tool or Balen a Lucifer is because they are worried that the 20+ years of mili-juli looting binge session might finally come to an end.



We need more Balen, Harka, Mahabir in politics. We need mavericks who will not give a rat's arse about enriching themselves. Let us not expect miracles but expect less corruption if these kind of people get into power! At the end of the day, we must understand that our government is broke and has no money to give you free health care or improve the education standards or generate employment.



Our parents have done it without the help of the government to take care of us and hope some day, you will be able to do the same for your kids. All we ask for is not freebies but affordable education, health care and employment opportunities here at home rather than having no choice but to leave for foreign lands for better academic or economic opportunities.


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