Ujwal Dai,



If someone had told me a while back that there would come a day when I would stop my car to go speak to a dog, I would have said "You're bullshitting me." Dogs freak me out. Literally. But today as I was driving in Baluwatar, I saw two people handing out pamphlets in front of Bibeksheel Nepali's poster with 'dog' symbol. I have been following your election campaign on facebook and wanted to go speak with your fellow counterparts - an action, I thought, that could potentially inform my voting decision. I am an undecided voter. I have never voted before because I have been abroad since I could legally vote. I am a not-so-rare breed of registered voters who are both optimistic about Nepal's future and are mildly disappointed idealists at the same time. I picked up the election manifesto of a few major parties. While I have a sense of appreciation for the dazzling optimism glowing in their manifesto, I only take their wild promises with a grain of salt. I am trying to find someone who can balance their idealism with a sense of pragmatism, someone who has a vision, someone who is a rebel with a cause, and in your own words "someone who is a doer and not just a talker." In short, I am one of Ujwal Thapa's target voter base in काठमाडौँ क्षेत्र नम्बर-५.



And yet, I am an undecided voter. I follow you on facebook. Your phenomenal video 'नेपाल हाम्रो घर हो, डेरा होईन ' has the power to stir people's blood - I will give you that. I have carefully read your letter that mentions the contributions you have made to the Nepalese society and have a deep appreciation for your sacrifice and your energy. Not many concerned citizens have united young entrepreneurs to provide a platform to push people to think outside the '9-5 jaagir' mentality. Not many people are fearless enough to lead a campaign to put an end to 'bandhs'. And historically, there might have been countless discussions on women's rights during the 'long distance patriotism' sessions at bars in the US, but certainly not many men have led a 'Satyagraha' trying to put an end to women violence. Based on my conversations with fellow Budhanilkantha School alumni and other friends, I have heard good things about your character, too. I believe in your honesty and I have faith in your good intentions.



And yet, I am still an undecided voter. That is the reason I stopped my car to speak with your counterparts this evening. I asked them if I could read your election manifesto. I was handed a one-page flyer and was told that you do not have anything of that sort yet. I heard only one thing regarding your political group's ideology - that you support the system of a president (or a prime minister) who is directly elected by the people. Now allow me to challenge you a little bit on your election campaign - you have a catchy slogan, you have an attention-grabbing dramatic performance as you go make rounds in the city, but you are still missing the answers to some crucial questions. Or maybe you do have the answers and I may just not have heard those answers. But having the answers only in your head does not qualify you to win in the elections when you are battling two well-reputed leaders in your region. I urge you to pen down those answers in the form of a detailed election manifesto and hand them out along with your one-page flyers in Baluwatar.



I live in Narayansthan. And because of some logistical issues, I am registered to vote from my former residence in Dhumbarahi. If I am to walk for two hours, stand in the line at the voting booth, cast my vote, and walk back home for another two hours, I need to know what policies I am voting for. I need to be assured that I am voting for someone who represents my ideology, someone who stands up for what I believe in. In order to know whether our ideologies rhyme, I need more concrete intellectually-stimulating roadmap from you. I need to see where you stand on some of the most complex political issues at the current crossroads that we are at. What is your imagination of federalism? How have you envisioned state restructuring? In an economy where the political risks of foreign investment are high and where the concerned authorities are unwilling to change some of the regulatory structure, what will you do to create an environment conducive to welcoming more foreign direct investment? What do you think should be the role of the state in infrastructure building? What is your take on the ongoing identity politics? Against the backdrop of a parliament that is increasingly becoming divided, is voting for a new face the right thing to do from my standpoint? Or will I just be contributing to more political fragmentation within a parliament that will not be able to draft a new constitution because of the presence of more than 25 different political flavors?



These are tough questions and I do not expect answers on all of these issues. But at the very least, I need to see how you think on these issues; what kind of policy roadmap you envision. Let me throw at you a hypothetical but a totally plausible scenario - you might be the only candidate from Bibeksheel Nepali in the parliament trying to raise an important issue that nobody else really cares about within the parliament. What are you going to do about it? I have a huge respect for your unwavering commitment to end the culture of 'bandhs'. I feel very strongly against bandhs. Sure, there was a time when bandh meant a day off from school and we would celebrate the day with no classes. But as you start balding, you start to understand the implications of bandh on the already weak economy. On a more philosophical level, 'bandh' violates my "negative liberty" (freedom from interference by other people). And when someone uses violence to undermine my "negative liberty" and threatens my desire to drive to work on the day of so-called bandh, perhaps the state should leverage their monopoly on violence to stop or punish the act of the bandh-perpetrators. Perhaps, someone throwing stones at my vehicle should be reciprocated with tear gas at the very least? How do you plan to put an end to the culture of bandhs?



Ujwal dai, me seeking for a more comprehensive document from you around your to-do list is an opportunity for you to further clarify your stance on crucial issues. I believe that a lot of undecided voters like me would like to know more about your concrete work plan before they decide whether or not to put an approval stamp on 'dog' this election.



Best regards,

Kumud Ghimire







