CPN-UML candidate for Kathmandu Constituency No. 4, Dr. Rajan Bhattarai, has said that attempts are being made to confuse the public during the election by branding political parties as “new” and “old.”
Speaking at a House of Representatives election–focused cadre meeting organized on Saturday by the Okhaldhunga–Kathmandu Contact Forum of CPN-UML, Bhattarai argued that political parties are never truly new or old.
“We are talking about this election at a time when some forces are trying to spread confusion by carrying different slogans,” he said, adding, “Political parties are not new or old. A political party is never new or old.”
Citing international examples, Bhattarai said that in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Thailand, the same political parties have been governing for hundreds of years. “In the United States, Republicans and Democrats have been in power for more than 250 years. In the UK and Thailand as well, parties that are hundreds of years old remain in power,” he said.
He remarked that in Nepal, however, there is a deliberate attempt to mislead people by labeling parties as new or old, and said this issue requires serious discussion.
“A political party becomes ‘old’ only when the ideology it carries becomes irrelevant and its programs no longer serve the interests of the people,” Bhattarai said. He emphasized that if a party’s ideology and programs remain relevant, it will always be new, and urged party workers to convey this message clearly to the public.
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