Nepal's disgruntled Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, a key Madhesi party, will participate in the third phase of the local level elections to be held next month, Federal Socialist Forum Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav claimed today.
Speaking at an event in eastern Nepal, Yadav said "Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal's (RJP-N) participation in the polls will mean a victory for it irrespectively of whether it wins or gets defeated".
He claimed that the RJP-N will participate in third phase of the local level elections to be held on September 18.
He, however, said that the government made a mistake by not holding the local level elections in the Province 2 in the second-phase while stressing the need for addressing the remaining issues through the Constitutional amendment.
Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the Constitution is amended to accommodate their demands like more representation in parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.
Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution.
Meanwhile, Minister for Supplies Shiva Kumar Mandal said that it would be a big achievement for the government if it could ensure the participation of the RJP-N in the third phase of local level elections.
He said the government was committed to bringing the RJP-N on board for the polls while continuing activities initiated by the erstwhile government in a bid to increase ownership of the new Constitution.
Mandal claimed that the government was serious about holding elections - provincial and federal - within the stipulated time-frame of January 21, 2018.
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