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A Russian oligarch has lambasted the country's "massacre" in Ukraine and called for an end to the "crazy war".

Oleg Tinkov wrote in a profanity-littered Instagram post that he did not see "any beneficiary" of the conflict, BBC reported.

Mr Tinkov is one of Russia's most well-known entrepreneurs and founded the global online bank Tinkoff Bank and owned the cycling team Tinkoff-Saxo.

He is also one of the most high profile Russians to publicly condemn President Vladimir Putin's actions.

Two of the country's most prominent oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have made separate calls for peace, but have stopped short of direct criticism.

Mr Fridman, a billionaire banker, has said any personal remarks could be a risk not just to himself but also staff and colleagues.

However, the businessman Boris Mints, who worked for the Russian government in the 1990s but was discharged of his political roles four days after Mr Putin took office, has joined Mr Tinkov in voicing direct criticism of the president.

Mr Mints, who lives in the UK, is the subject of current legal action by the Kremlin. He told the BBC "every right-thinking person has a duty to speak out against this appalling war and Vladimir Putin's growing authoritarianism".

"All of us must do what we can to support Ukrainians suffering from this vicious onslaught, whether in Ukraine or as refugees beyond its borders," he added, according to BBC.

The UK government has sanctioned Mr Tinkov along with many other Russians identified as having close links to the Kremlim. Mr Mints has not been sanctioned.

Mr Tinkov has previously denied having any close relationship with President Putin or the Kremlin.

In his Instagram post, Mr Tinkov said 90% of Russians were against the war in Ukraine and added "morons in any country are 10%".

"I don't see a SINGLE beneficiary of this insane war! Innocent people and soldiers are dying," Mr Tinkov added.

"Waking up with a hangover, the generals realised that they have a shit army.

"And how will the army be good, if everything else in the country is shitty and mired in nepotism, sycophancy and servility?"

Before Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Mr Tinkov's wealth had been estimated at more than $4.4bn (£3.4bn).

But he has since lost his billionaire status as shares in his bank have plummeted, Forbes reported last month.

Switching to English in his post, Mr Tinkov wrote: "Dear 'collective West' please give Mr Putin a clear exit to save his face and stop this massacre. Please be more rational and humanitarian."

In a statement, Tinkoff Bank said it would not comment on the "private opinion" of its founder, who stepped down as chairman in 2020, saying he no longer made decisions for the brand started in 2006, BBC reported.

Mr Tinkov, who is not currently in Russia, owns about 35% of Cyprus-based TCS Group Holding, whose stable of companies under the Tinkoff brand span sectors from banking and insurance to mobile services. 

He has been described as a "serial entrepreneur" whose career has seen him go from bike racing, to importing electronics, flogging frozen food, brewing beer, issuing credit cards and then back to bike racing as owner of cycling's Tinkoff-Saxo team, according to BBC.

On April 6, actor Bhuwan KC announced that he would be standing for mayor of Kathmandu in the May 13 local elections, only to withdraw his candidacy days later. It has been over a decade since KC first expressed his interest in politics. He had also toyed with the idea of contesting the Constituent Assembly elections from CPN-UML in 2013. 

KC tells ApEx he changed his mind about running for the mayor’s race this time after the Unnat Loktantra Party publicized his name as a candidate without his consent. But KC says he does plan on joining politics someday. Currently, he is not associated with any political party.

“Parties are using politics as a tool to either serve their own agendas or the interests of small groups. I want to join politics to address the problems of ordinary people,” KC says. 

In the view of sociologist Ramesh Parajuli, unlike Nepal, India has a long history of celebrities winning elections, even holding ministerial posts. 

In India, there are scores of celebrities—from actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini to cricketers like Gautam Gambhir and Kirti Azad—who have joined politics to various degrees of success. This trend seems to be catching on in Nepal as well. Karishma Manandhar, Rekha Thapa, and Komal Oli are among the Nepali celebrities who have joined politics.

Some Nepali political parties have started actively courting celebrities. But whether they can transform their charms into votes is an open question.

In 2017, celebrated BBC journalist Rabindra Mishra contested parliamentary elections from Kathmandu Constituency-1. He lost to Nepali Congress candidate Prakash Man Singh by a narrow margin of 819 votes. But he comfortably came second, way ahead of candidates from CPN-UML, Maoist Center, and other more established parties.

Currently, no party seems as interested in bringing celebrities on board as UML.  

On March 22, actor Manandhar joined the party amid fanfare. UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli himself welcomed her. In her remark, the actor said she was not going to bargain for any post in the party, and would be happy to serve as an ordinary cadre. UML hopes her stardom will help it pull some votes.

Since joining the party, Manandhar has attended quite a few events with Oli.

Popular folk singer Komal Oli is arguably the most successful celebrity-turned-politician in Nepal. She too joined the UML a few years ago and went on to become a National Assembly member.  

After serving as a member of the upper house of federal parliament, she is now preparing to contest parliamentary elections from Dang Constituency-3. 

Prakash Chandra Pariyar of Sajha Bibeksheel Party says there is certainly added charm when celebrities run for elections.   

“Our old mainstream political parties have failed to deliver, so people gravitate towards new faces. And with celebrities, people can connect,” he says. “Celebrities with new vision and vigor could bring about some much-needed social changes. People want change.” 

Celebrities’ embrace of politics could also help change common public opinion that politics is no more than a dirty game.

“If more celebrities join politics, we can minimize such a mentality, creating a positive atmosphere for all politicians,” says singer Oli.

Still, Nepal has a long way to go before a celebrity here can be a successful politician. It is still hard to imagine celebrities winning direct parliamentary elections. But why?

“What you see in India is that some of its celebrities represent language and cultural politics—that is not so in Nepal,” says social commentator Hari Sharma. With India’s gargantuan population, they invariably attract large followings. You don’t see the same kind of mass fan-base in Nepal.

“Usually, celebrities who want to succeed politically should have a solid social and cultural foundation but our celebrities lack such a foundation,” Sharma adds. “So I do not see our celebrities turning into successful politicians.”

Sociologist Parajuli says it is relatively easier for celebrities to join UML because it is a cadre-based party, and there is also some possibility in Madhes. “In the case of other hill- and mountain-based parties, it is not easy to contest and win elections,” he argues.

Echoing Sharma, Prof Ram Krishna Tiwari, head of the Central Department of Political Science, agrees that it is difficult for Nepali celebrities to establish themselves in politics.

“Ours is a highly politicized society, from the center to the grassroots,” says Tiwari, “and as such people tend to follow established politicians instead of new celebrity candidates.” 

Tiwari adds that Nepali celebrities who are currently in politics also have no good vision.  

Speaking on behalf of celebrities, both actor KC and singer Oli are skeptical about the commitment of political parties to ensure greater representation of celebrities in their ranks.

“As the election season draws close, politicians approach us and seek our help in their campaigns. But we are forgotten soon as the elections are over,” KC says. Arguing that Nepali political parties discourage the entry of celebrities into politics, KC laments the lack of realization on the part of political parties that “we are known and established faces who have won the hearts and minds of millions.” 

The ruling parties have finally reached an agreement on the mayor and deputy mayor of the six metropolitan and 11 sub-metropolitan cities for the local level elections slated for May 13.

During the meeting held at the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s official residence in Baluwatar on Wednesday, Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Janamorcha have made a written agreement on the mayor and deputy mayor of the metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities. 

According to the agreement, Nepali Congress will take the post of mayor in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Biratnagar and the post of deputy mayor in Pokhara, Birgunj and Bharatpur Metropolitan Cities.

CPN (Maoist Centre) will get the post of mayor in Bharatpur Metropolitan City and the post of deputy mayor in Lalitpur. 

Similarly, CPN (Unified Socialist) will get the post of mayor in Pokhara Metropolitan City and the post of deputy mayor in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. 

Janata Samajbadi Party will get the post of mayor in Birgunj and deputy mayor in Biratnagar. 

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress will take the post of mayor in Dharan, Itahari, Kalaiya, Butwal, Tulsipur, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan Cities and the post of deputy mayor in Jitpur Simara, Ghorahi and Hetauda.

Likewise, CPN (Maoist Centre) will take the post of mayor in Jitpur Simara and Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan Cities and the post of deputy mayor in Dharan and Dhangadhi.

CPN (Unified Socialist) will take the post of mayor in Hetauda and deputy mayor Itahari, Butwal and Tulsipur. 

Similarly, Janata Samajbadi Party will take the post of mayor in Janakpur and deputy mayor in Kalaiya and Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan Cities.

Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya today said the tendency of weakening election integrity and contaminating poll-related activities could not be democratic.

Initiatives have been taken to create conducive environment for holding the May 13 local election in a fair, fearless and disciplined way and such efforts should not be doubted, he said at an event organised today here by the Election Commission. The programme was supported by the Press Council Nepal and the Federation of Nepali Journalists.

"It feels that there have somehow been difficulties in carrying out electoral reforms effectively due to the culture of not entertaining changes and taking them personally," he said.

Electoral reforms have been implemented only after discussion with stakeholders, he clarified. "We have decided to organise the local poll in a single phase and on a single day.

Elections after 1991 have not been held in a single phase and a single day. This could result in organising the poll in a fair, free, impartial way."

He explained, the EC took the risk of allocating election symbols to the parties except those with national recognition to pave the way for them to participate in the election despite a clear legal provision to this effect missing. "The decision was new for us (the EC team)."

According to the Chief Election Commissioner, political parties have been advised that the implementation of the Article 38 (4) that provides women the right to participate in all bodies of the state on the basis of the principle of proportional inclusion and Article 42 which is about the right to social justice would help enhance women's representation, participation and inclusion in the election.

Stating that election was becoming extravagant and the poll ran the risk of being influenced by money and resources instead of party principles and ideologies, he said the EC had fixed a ceiling for election expenditure for the same reason.

He said the Election Code of Conduct was drafted acting on the suggestions from all bodies concerned as the EC hoped to see its effective implementation. "Its monitoring will be carried out through the participation of all bodies concerned.

Acknowledging the contribution of media in taking the nation towards the election process, he urged mediapersons to fully comply with journalists' code of conduct and election code of conduct. "Media houses are expected to prove their professionalism, credibility, independence, fearlessness and to fulfil their responsibility towards citizens."

It has been proposed to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products during the electoral silence period to avert any untoward influence among voters, according to Thapaliya.

Council Chairperson Bal Krishna Basnet urged the media to fully abide by the journalists' code of conduct and election code of conduct.

He said, "It is the responsibility of all to follow the code of conduct. Media should play its role in covering the election in a free and fearless environment."

Similarly, FNJ President Bipul Pokharel opined that the media should play a significant role in taking voters to polling stations and helping to hold the election in a fearless manner.

Pokharel further said that journalists should actively show their neutrality during the poll.

On the occasion, an orientation on the issue of election code of conduct and news dissemination was given to photo journalists, online media journalists and journalists writing on election.

Under-Secretary of the EC, Kamal Bhattarai, gave a presentation on the 'Election Code of Conduct-2022 Implementation and Collaboration with Photo Journalists'.

Similarly, photo journalist Bikas Rauniyar gave a presentation on 'Photo Journalism: Past and Future' and photo journalist Bikas Karki on 'Election related News Collection, Reporting and Photo Journalism'.

Likewise, senior journalist Hari Bahadur Thapa presented a working paper on 'Election related News Collection and Reporting', EC Under-secretary Surya Prasad Aryal presented on 'Election Code of Conduct-2022 and media sector' and media expert Kiran Chapagain on 'Prevention of Misinformation and Hate Speech and its possible impacts on election'.