Submit your Article

With the 2022 FIFA World Cup under way, there is an inevitable excitement among football fans. They already have their favorites. Anushka Nepal from ApEx talked to 10 fans to find out which teams are they rooting for.   Puzan Shrestha My elder brother was an England fan. Maybe because of his influence, I also started loving the England team since the 2010 World Cup. This time, there aren’t any elite opponents in our group. So, we’ll easily advance from the group stage. England has a strong squad that can take on any opponents. I do have a little concern with our defender Harry Maguire, as he is known to slip off on many occasions. If he could perform better, I’m sure no team could challenge us to win the World Cup trophy. Shrutee Gautam I have been a Messi supporter since my high school days. Everyone in my class knew that, so you can understand how much I must have talked about him. So, obviously, I am supporting Argentina, which I have done since the 2018 World Cup. I believe he deserves to take the trophy home this time. This is his last World Cup and it is a huge deal, since he is one of the greatest players in the history of football. So, with his last World Cup, I want to see Argentina take the trophy.   Nishant Aryal I am supporting Argentina because of Leo Messi. I have done so since the 2019 World Cup. I follow all of Messi’s games. As this could be the last world cup of the greatest of all time, I am excited to watch Argentina lifting the world cup. Coming to the World Cup, we were among the favorites to win. But the defeat against Saudi Arabia in the first match left us heartbroken. Yet, there is hope that we will qualify. I know the players will fight till the last breath for the glory of their nation and to win the hearts of the fans once again as they did back in Copa America. Ojaswi Khanal I have been watching football since I was a fourth grader. The first time I watched the World Cup was when I was in grade eight. Since then I have been supporting Argentina. I want Argentina to win it because of Messi. As they say football owes Messi a World Cup. He is the greatest of all time and he deserves to win this World Cup for all the things he has given. Although he did win Copa America with this team, winning the World Cup is his dream.  Dikshant Siwakoti  The first international football game I watched was between Brazil and Germany. It ended in a draw, but the two Brazilian players—Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Nazario—stole my heart. So, I started to watch football just for these two players. As I grew up and started understanding football from technical and tactical points of view, I found watching Brazil’s games was even more exciting. I have been a Brazil supporter and these days, I see the reflection of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo in Neymar Jr.  No other team has a better squad depth than Brazil this time. Even our non-starting line-up could beat the other teams. We are confident about this World Cup despite the fact that Neymar picked up an injury in the first game and has been ruled out from the group stage games. We are eager to put the sixth star in our jersey. Roshan Dahal I was 10 years old during the 2010 World Cup. Everyone in my village had their favorite teams but I had none. So, I asked my brother which team I should support and he suggested Argentina. In the quarterfinal match between Germany and Argentina, I was awake till 12:30 am cheering for Argentina. Unfortunately, Germany thrashed Argentina 4-0. The Germans were impressive. From that day, I started following Germany. They lost that World Cup, but won the next one. We don’t have that many experienced players in our squad this time. So, I don’t think we can win the trophy this year. Saurav Karkee I started watching and playing football because of Cristiano Ronaldo. I saw him play for Real Madrid in 2013 and ever since, I have been a huge admirer of his. I have learned a lot after watching him play. I supported Portugal in the 2014 World Cup as well as in the 2016 Euro. Despite being an underdog, Portugal won the Euro. It was Ronaldo’s first-ever international trophy. The World Cup is the only trophy that he lacks. This time, we have a balanced team with a mixture of some young talents and experienced players. It looks good on paper. I think Portugal will play good football and obviously, it is Ronaldo’s last World Cup and every player will try their best to make all the Portuguese fans’ dreams come true.  Paranjaya Nepal Usually, I support the country that has many players from Manchester United. But this time, I am supporting Argentina, because of Messi. He is one of the greatest players of our generation, and possibly, a greatest player ever. I don’t think any player of past or present can beat him. It feels like him not winning a World Cup would be an injustice to the talent he has shown in his previous games. So I want Argentina to win this World Cup.  Kareena Bhattarai I started watching the World Cup from 2010 South Africa because all my family and friends were football enthusiasts. My brother was an Argentina fan and like any other sister, I wanted to support a team that would turn out to be a competitor—such a silly reason right? I then started following Brazil as it had already won five world cups. Even though I started supporting them with no good reason whatsoever, I am now a die-hard Brazil fan. This time too, they are the favorites. Pratha Gautam I am not supporting any team in this World Cup, and I have my reasons. I have always liked Germany, though. I am currently living in Poland, so I do root for Poland during their matches. But I don’t have any particular team that I wish would win the World Cup this year.

The results of the federal and provincial elections show that the political scenario in Madhes has changed. Voters by and large seem to have developed an apparent distrust against the erstwhile dominant Madhes-centric parties and their candidates. The Madhes-based parties, which had been winning the majority of seats in the province by raising Madhesi agendas, didn’t fare well this time. Instead, the CPN-UML—the third-placed party in the province in the 2017 polls—has emerged as the largest party in Madhes. More tellingly, new faces have been elected in 20 of the 32 House of Representatives seats from Madhes. Similarly, the Nepali Congress, which won six seats in 2017, has slightly strengthened its presence this time by winning a seat more. The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), meanwhile, put on a weak show, winning six seats despite being a Madhes-centric force. It had won 10 seats in the previous elections. Another Madhes-based party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), did even worse by winning just three seats, which is six fewer than last time. The CPN (Maoist Center) was another big loser, securing just one seat in Madhes. It had won five seats in 2017. The newly formed CPN (Unified Socialist) and Janamat Party won two and one seats respectively, while independent candidates were victorious in three constituencies. Of the three independent candidates, Amresh Kumar Singh was the rebel candidate of the NC in Sarlahi-3. Two other independent candidates—Prabhu Sah (Rautahat-3) and Kiran Sah (Rautahat-2)—won as they were supported by some parties in the ruling coalition. The rise of Janamat Party In the provincial assembly election, the Maoist Center, JSP and LSP won half of the seats that they had won in 2017. Looking at the election results declared so far, the Janamat Party, led by CK Raut, would be key in government formation in Madhes government.. Of the 64 first past the post (FPTP) seats in the assembly, Raut’s party has won seven seats so far and is on track to add a few more. The UML and NC have won 13 seats each, while JSP and LSP have secured nine and seven seats, respectively. The Maoist Center and Unified Socialist have won four seats apiece, while independent candidates have occupied six seats. Since the independent candidates had contested the polls against the official candidates of their parties, there are chances that they might rejoin their parties. “People didn’t show belief in Madhes-based parties who put their agendas on the back burner and forged electoral alliances with the parties that they once opposed. So, the people of Madhes voted for CK Raut’s Janamat Party,” says youth activist Arun Jha. “Janamat Party has won the hearts of people by raising the issues that mattered to them.” Jha believes Janamat Party is the new alternative force in Madhes. The defeat of party boss The central presidents of four parties had contested the election to the House of Representatives from Madhes this time. CK Raut, chairman of Janamat Party, defeated JSP chair Upendra Yadav by a huge margin in Saptari-2. Similarly, LSP leader Mahantha Thakur defeated Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party’s chair Brikesh Chandra Lal in Mahottari-3. Unified Socialist chair Madhav Kumar Nepal also won from Rautahat-2. The defeat of senior Madhes-centric leaders signifies a big change, says Dr Surendra Labh, member of the National Planning Commission. “They were defeated because of their own doings. Keeping the people entangled in old issues and failure to bring any basis for socio-economic development is the first reason behind their loss,” he says. “The second reason is that the voters want prosperity and economic development. Since the old leaders were unable to deliver these things, the voters went for new faces.” Women in parliament Two out of three female candidates, who contested the election for the House of Representatives from Madhes Province, were elected this time. Both these candidates—Juli Kumari Mahato (Dhanusha-3) and Jwala Sah (Bara-3)—belong to the UML.  The third woman candidate, Chitra Lekha Yadav was defeated in Siraha-2 by JSP's Raj Kishor Yadav. Similarly, four women have been elected to the Madhes Province Assembly so far. Rani Sharma Tiwari was elected from Mahottari-3 (B), while Surita Sah, a rebel candidate of JSP, was victorious in Mahottari-2 (B). Likewise, Unified Socialist’s Bechi Lungeli and Sharada Thapa won from Sarlahi-1 (B) and Mahottari-1 (A) respectively. All four of these women candidates were elected in 2017 as well. No to politics of caste and identity The election results from Madhes this time also hint at the changing attitude of its voters when it comes to politics of caste and identity. Parties, which used to bank on votes by pandering to minority groups, Dalits and Muslims, were left disappointed. This also suggests the growing number of voters who are socially and politically. The defeat of Upendra Yadav in the region dominated by the Yadav community could be an indication that voters in Madhes want to put casteism behind. “It’s a wake up call for parties that gave up their agendas and focused on casteism,” says Dr Labh. What lies ahead? The Madhes-based politics has its roots in the people’s movement of 1950. Various landlords in the Tarai belt including in Mahottari, Saptari and Morang had supported the movement against the autocratic Rana regime. Gajendra Narayan Singh, Kusheshwar Pathak and Mahindra Raya were some of the Madhesi leaders that participated in the 1950 movement. Madhesi people and leaders also fought actively against the Panchayat regime. Leaders like Ramraja Prasad Singh, Dr Laxmi Narayan Jha, Suryanath Raya Yadav, Saketchandra Mishra and Dilip Chaudhary were victims of enforced disappearance by the state. Though Ramraja Prasad Singh managed to free himself, Durgananda Jha became the first martyr of Madhes origin during the Panchayat regime. Madhes and its people had a political voice in a real sense after the Madhes movement of 2007. The erstwhile Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, led by Yadav, was at the forefront of this movement. The party went on to win 52 seats in the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA) elections. But soon it split into different factions, and as a result, the position of Madhes in the mainstream politics was weakened. In the 2013 CA elections, Madhes-based parties won only 12 out of 119 seats. Although the Madhes-centric parties did form the government in Madhes Province after the 2017 elections, they left much to be desired for when it came to development, stability and good governance.   Observers say voters have punished the Madhes-based parties for their complacency, for condoning corruption and irregularities. It is an outcome of disrespecting people’s will. If the parties do not learn their lesson, they could be  further weakened in the  next election, observers say. Box Madhes Province Assembly (FPTP seats) CPN-UML: 15 Nepali Congress: 13 JSP: 9 LSP: 7 Janamat: 6 Independents: 6 Maoist Center: 4 CPN (US): 4

Ram Kumar, a 30-year-old who sells vegetables on the roadside, has been living in fear ever since Balen Shah restricted street vendors from setting up shop on the streets. The fear of losing the only business that sustains his family leaves him restless. “Moving away from the main street has cost me a lot of customers. Now I fear I might even lose my cart,” he says. Kathmandu gave him home, he says, but with this problem looming large, he fears he has to go back to Bihar and start from scratch. “After all these years of struggle, I don’t want to go back to the same situation I was in 18 years ago,” he says. Before coming to Kathmandu, Kumar had left for Mumbai (Bombay as he calls it) with his friend. He was promised a job of InRs 2,000, but he was only given InRs 700. Disappointed, Kumar came back to Bihar and decided to move to Kathmandu. He came to Kathmandu from Bihar in 2004. He was studying in fifth grade but had to discontinue his education as his family could not afford it. “I wanted to study, but circumstances weren’t on my side,” he says. He was just 12. He mentions Kathmandu’s language and culture were difficult to learn and adapt to. He never thought he would be able to speak in Nepali. It’s still quite difficult to communicate, he says. Kathmandu was a new place for him and he didn’t know how he would survive. But his brother was already in the city and that at least put aside his lodging worries for a little while. He had a little money with him, but that only sustained him for a week or so. To make a living on his own, he desperately needed a job. “Luckily, I got to borrow a cycle from one of my brother’s friends,” he says. He used that to travel around and sell ice cubes. “Back then, I believed that was how I would be able to start a new life in Kathmandu,” he adds. Unfortunately, the business did not go as planned. But his determination to make it didn’t wane and he switched to selling chatpate on the streets. The standard cost for one plate of chatpate back then was five rupees. “There wasn’t much profit and it was difficult to make ends meet,” he says. “So I thought maybe selling chaat instead would be a better option.” He took a cart for rent, for which he had to pay a certain amount of money everyday. Sometimes, the profit would just cover that month’s rent. He had some regulars who visited quite often. But not all customers were easy on him. One of his customers, who was in her 60s, started ordering in Hindi immediately after she heard Ram Kumar’s accent. He replied in Nepali but she didn’t stop. She looked at him and giggled. He recalls how uncomfortable that made him. “I faced a lot of dicrimination because of how I spoke. It was very frustrating and humiliating,” he says. Jumping from one job to another had always been difficult for him. It brought about a lot of uncertainty, and now he had a family of five to feed. Not to mention the school fees of his two children. “My wife helped me out with the business but making a profit was also not up to her,” he says. His struggle isn’t just limited to life in Kathmandu. He is dealing with a property dispute back in Bihar. “My siblings and I had decided to invest some money to build a house there. Now there are some monetary issues,” he says. This isn’t the only betrayal he has faced. Back when he was selling chaat, he lent Rs 4,000 to one of his friends to start his life in Kathmandu. “I really hoped he would work and build a good life but he left for Bihar and never paid me back,” he says. He sometimes thinks things would have turned out a little better had his father still been alive. “I would at least have a support system. I never had it,” he says. But despite life’s cruelties, Kumar is happy with what he has. He is proud of the life he made for himself and his family. Now he works as a vegetable vendor. With the little amount he had saved from his past jobs, he was able to afford his own cart. “At least I don’t have to pay rent on it now,” he says. But he says he is still concerned about whether he will ever be able to give his family more than just the basics. He feels things would be different if he had studied. “My friends from school days have become doctors and engineers. Maybe I could have too,” he says. But he does not dwell on it for long. Instead, he hopes to send his children to good schools. But he fears, with the mayor imposing so many restrictions on street vendors, without giving them any alternative to earn a decent living, that dream might never materialize. “But I’m a religious person, and I believe God is looking after everyone,” he says. “Maybe he will look after me and my family too.”

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava was the first diplomat to meet top  leaders  after Nepal’s  Nov 20 elections. This came at a time when the preliminary parleys are ongoing among the major parties to hash out the modality of the post-election power-sharing deal. The Indian envoy wanted to read the minds of Sher Bahadur Deuba, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and KP Sharma Oli to figure out the likely composition of the next government in Kathmandu. Soon after it became apparent that the election was headed towards a hung parliament, external powers started raising their interests regarding the government formation process in Nepal, and, as always, India’s curiosity was particularly piqued. Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a recent media briefing that India looks forward to working with the new government.  “India and Nepal have a very special relationship, and we will continue to have this very close relationship with whichever government the people of Nepal choose.” Over the past few years, India has been maintaining a ‘hands-off or call it low profile’ approach on Nepal’s internal political affairs, and Bagchi’s remarks suggest as much. But, some officials say this approach of India towards Nepal has provided space for Beijing and Washington to meddle in internal political affairs of Nepal. Multiple sources that ApEx spoke to say New Delhi’s first preference is the continuation of the current coalition government led by Nepali Congress (NC). If that doesn't work out, it wants an NC-led government with the CPN-UML as a key coalition partner. While India has officially spoken about Nepal’s electoral process, China and the US have so far remained silent, at least publicly. This silence on the part of Beijing and Washington, however, does not mean they are not interested. China, which has increased its political influence in Kathmandu, is also closely watching Nepal’s election process. Just before the elections, Chinese Vice Minister for Culture and Tourism Li Qun paid a five-day visit to Nepal. In the absence of its ambassador in Kathmandu, Beijing doesn’t want to miss out on the unfolding developments in its neighbor.  A source at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the new dispensation in Kathmandu should seek a balance between India and China, instead of taking a pro-Indian approach.  “Nepal should maintain its neutrality while dealing with major powers, and it should keep China in high priority,” says the source. As the chances of leftist parties coming together appear slim, Beijing’s message seems as though it doesn’t have any preference regarding the government formation process and, at the same time, filled with expectation that India and other major powers should not meddle in Nepal’s internal  affairs. Beijing is expected to dispatch a senior official in coming weeks in order to brief Nepal’s major parties about its core interests. China is wary about the growing US influence in Kathmandu.  Washington, meanwhile, prefers a non-communist government in Kathmandu  to advance its interests. The superpower is closely following Nepal’s election process. Anil Sigdel, a US-based foreign policy expert, says the US respects the verdict of Nepali voters and will work with the new government and parliament. “Since the US has already recalibrated and widened its engagement with Nepal in the growingly challenging situation in South Asia, emergence of a new equation in Nepali politics, especially one that carries a slightly anti-American tone, will continue to test American diplomacy in Nepal in the days ahead.” Sigdel adds that a democratic practice of regular and free and fair elections in which citizens can vote for their choice of representatives is a major policy priority of the US.The fact that Nepal has successfully conducted its national elections is already a welcome development for the US. Since the Nepali Congress, a liberal democratic party, has come out as the largest force, the left forces remain fragmented and several new faces have been elected in this election, Sigdel reckons a government of coalition with different interests will most likely work out a common ground to move forward in a democratic way. This arrangement of coalition, Sigdel adds, will provide the US with a space to continue its partnership with Nepal.  Due to growing geopolitical tensions, all big powers want Nepal to have a government conducive to them. This way they can not only push their interests in Kathmandu, but also counter the influence of their rivals.