Even top leaders like Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal are facing the heat of independent candidates.
Analysts say realistically, independent candidates are not in a position of winning the elections against seasoned politicians, but they can surely change the course of election outcomes. Political analyst Krishna Khanal says though anti-incumbency wave has become strong this time due to the failure of major political parties that have been at the helm of power in the past three decades. “True, a new political party will not sweep them away overnight, but it is high time that the established parties changed their ways, brought new agenda and allowed young leaders to drive the county,” says Khanal. “The same old faces have been running this country since 1990 and they have failed to deliver. So, resentment among the public is understandable.” Jagannath Lamichhane, an independent candidate for the provincial assembly from Kathmandu-5, says people’s response to independent candidates is encouraging. “People want to vote for outsiders but with so many independent candidates in the race, their winning prospects are low.” Khanal says major parties should take the recent surge in independent candidates as an important intervention and a lesson to correct their old ways. He believes that independent candidates cannot become an alternative to the political parties. “But there is certainly an important lesson that old parties can learn from the enthusiasm that the public has shown towards independent candidates.”
