Ba vs Balen: A pointless battle

For sometime now, a burgeoning cum ballooning verbal battle between the Mayor of Kathmandu, Balendra Shah alias Balen and the CPN-UML party and its supremo, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, has become ghastly aggressive and personally pinpointing as well. After being elected the mayor of Kathmandu, Balen himself humbly visited Oli at Balkot. Maybe that visit was a rightful reflection of respect and earnest veneration to Ba. Handing the tabla, a musical instrument, on behalf of the host to the guest on that day spoke volumes about heaping harmony. But that relation has been ruined almost irrevocably. Ba and Balen are determinedly mired to fire words at each other’s slaughter these days. 

UML MP Rekha Sharma’s case, indication of monetary embezzlement in purported Giribandhu Estate, acrimonious comments on the commencement of new political equation, reprimand in the case of garbage being thrown at the door of the road department, management of slum dwellers, basement parking at Dharahara and many other issues are building the battle on. A few weeks ago, the supporters of both sides campaigned in un-following each other on social media. Of late, Balen’s bold move to penalize UML party committee on the charge of spoiling city sanitation in the pretext of organizing a protest assembly has taken the feud to new heights. These situations have posed many questions for most observant onlookers. In the past, some other unusual and non-ordinary situations had also bewildered this contributor.

Perplexing bewilderment  

Once in the vicinity of Thamel, a taxi was crushed when it hit a person who was walking on the road. This was only a heard incident but not a verified one. But a question arose: was the man strong or the taxi weak? An RCC bridge built over the Dudhkoshi river was destroyed by a breeze, a few years ago (So read the news!). Then another question arose: was the wind strong or the bridge weak? Last year, at a party, a man with a glass of Coca-Cola was seen hypnotizing and commandingly controlling in talking to another man who was drinking whiskey. Another question followed, naturally: was Coca-Cola strong and whiskey weak? After Narendra Modi was elected as the Prime Minister of India for the first time with a comfortable majority, this author himself raised this question at an international conference: did Modi win or did Rahul Gandhi lose?

Now, a similar question has arisen: has Balen become stronger or UML is becoming weaker? Why should an established party, its president and the prime minister of a country wage a verbal war against an independent person or a mayor? Why should he be afraid? Growing immersed in civil service rather than engaging in imbroglios and verbal contretemps on social sites only earnestly indicates political maturity, although social media is an incontrovertibly important tool in current politicking.

After Barack Obama was elected president for the first inning, he thanked the man who invented smartphones through the phone itself because the phone or the social network operated through the very device contributed significantly to his victory. Today’s time is assumed to be the time of 'government in pocket'. Everyone has a tool in their pocket that can update about the government and has the power even to change the government. A book titled ‘Like War: Weaponization of Social Media’ concludes that social networks are the active and prominent political weapons and forts now. The role of social media has been seen to be increasingly important in the leadership formation and Balen’s remarkable rise is a proof of this. A few references may be helpful in juxtaposing the battle of speech between the UML and Balen.

Helpful references

In the last election, the number of seats the UML won in the House of Representatives (HoR) came down a bit compared to the previous election. The number of membership renewals at Mission Grassroots disappointingly and dismally served the campaign. In the election of 2022 compared to 2017, the popular vote also graphed down by more than five lakh. Not a single candidate bagged victory in the first by-election of the HoR. Performance graph charts mere modicum of success in recent local-level by-election. Balen defeated UML’s candidate in the metropolitan election in Kathmandu with a wide margin. Balen brought the UML’s hotspot into heavy havoc and almost an apparent dismissal. 

Balen has around 2.1m followers and Oli has around half a million followers on social media. Has the head of the government and the UML become so weak as to be shivered and quivered with a mayor? Why is the UML, which fought against the aristocratic system, despotic power and authoritarian feudalism in the past, confronting an individual, mere a mayor of a metropolis? Is it not that the UML is becoming pro-regressive in the name of confronting Balen? Isn't the war of words with Balen becoming woeful for Oli?

Leaders who boastfully promised to transform Nepal and make it like Singapore or Switzerland have evidently made it one of the poorest countries in South Asia. A political party should be worried about this and channelize its energies to improve the situation. 

But why does a local level and its chief seem of being as cardinal count and as an arch nemesis? Has Balen, an individual, become equally strong to UML or a national party, the government leading power of the country, equal to the head of the government? Or has the UML debilitated to the level of one person, one local level? Time demands a merciless review and engagingly anchored analysis.

If UML has not made any mistake, has no shortcomings and has nothing to do with some of the allegations coming from Balen, then it ought to focus on main issues of the country. If the entire party has to be shaken and upset because of Balen, when will the UML find time to deal with burning issue facing the country? The uncommon situation of the PM against a mayor and entire party against just an individual has created a solid mountain of immense doubt. Is it that the UML has its confidence crashed? Does it have a moral deficit, has it lost self-esteem or juggernaut fear has arisen in its folds as citizens have started to trust others?

This contributor is never in the favor of either Balen or Oli or any party, he does not want disagreement and disharmony between them to swell ahead. He is aware that mutual arrogance and pride can cause another conflict in the country. Both Balen and Ba should not be word warriors against each other; they ought to be dedicated and devoted in the service of the citizens within their jurisdictions.