KATHMANDU, Nov 16: As the date for the upcoming parliamentary and provincial polls nears, top leaders of Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have expedited their poll campaigns across the country.
While NC President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is currently in western Nepal in the course of his poll campaign, UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal are scheduled to jointly start the poll campaign of their alliance from Gorkha district on Wednesday.
According to his press advisor Gobinda Pariyar, Deuba, who addressed a regional security meeting in Nepalgunj on Tuesday, is scheduled to visit Kailali and Kanchanpur on Wednesday. “Prime Minister Deuba plans to address poll rallies in various districts of far western Nepal including Dadeldhuara, Bajura, Bajhang, Baitadi and Achham districts,” he said.
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Deuba is scheduled to leave for Dadeldhuara after addressing the regional security meeting in Dhangadhi on Wednesday. Pariyar said the party's mass rallies in Kailali and Kanchanpur are scheduled later as these two districts will go to polls in the second phase.
Prior to this, Deuba addressed the party's mass rallies in Taplejung, Panchthar and Solukhumbu districts.
The left alliance is also formally starting its election campaign from Gorkha on Wednesday. Chairmen duo Oli and Dahal will be jointly addressing poll rallies in four different locations in Gorkha district and a rally in Lamjung district. Maoist Center senior leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha is contesting from constituency 2 of Gorkha district against Naya Shakti Party Nepal Coordinator and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai.
According to UML leaders, Oli and Dahal are scheduled to address a total 14 mass rallies across the country in order to solicit votes for left alliance candidates.
Although Oli has been actively participating in the poll campaign of the party's poll candidates, Dahal has so far been focusing on only his electoral constituency in Chitwan. Oli addressed poll rallies in constituencies of Yogesh Bhattarai, Rajan Bhattarai, Ishwar Pokharel and Rajendra Lingden, among others.