People Urge Rabi and Balen to Focus on Winning Seats, Not Just Challenging Oli, Deuba, and Prachanda

It is no secret that in the previous election, K.P. Sharma Oli was compelled to form a tactical alliance with Rajendra Lingden of the RPP due to a real electoral threat. This alone demonstrates how strategic and calculated traditional power politics can be.

Where figures such as Oli, Deuba, and Prachanda contest elections, they do so with the backing of decades-old local networks rooted in money, influence, intimidation, and control. In such environments, the appeal of new faces, media visibility, or intellectual clarity often has limited immediate impact. This is a reality that Sagar Dhakal has already experienced in Dadeldhura.

For this reason, people urge emerging leaders to act with caution and clarity. Rather than emotionally choosing constituencies simply to confront a particular individual, leaders are encouraged to think strategically. Careful consideration should be given to where victory is realistically achievable, where one’s natural support base lies, and where a campaign can result in a sure win.

If Balen Shah succeeds in defeating Oli and Sagar Dhakal defeats Deuba, that would certainly be welcomed. However, people also caution against ignoring the alternative outcome. If Oli and Deuba win again, as they have in the past, the consequences could be significant. In such a scenario, not only do Balen and Sagar risk defeat, but constituencies where they could have decisively defeated other entrenched and weaker old-guard figures may also fall back into the hands of the same corrupt forces. In attempting to defeat two powerful leaders, there is a risk of enabling four—and losing emerging leadership altogether. This is seen as political immaturity rather than sound strategy.

This is not a time to be guided by emotion or personal impulse. It is a time for calm, rational, and strategic thinking.

The old political order does not lose only when a single prominent leader is defeated at the ballot box. Oli, Deuba, and Prachanda lose when new forces secure the maximum number of seats and form a government. They lose when long-suppressed corruption cases are exposed and accountability is enforced. They lose when state institutions captured through partisan control are restored to independence and integrity. Ultimately, they lose not through protest alone, but through effective governance.

This is not about defeating individuals; it is about ensuring the nation wins.

People call for fulfilling the dreams of a generation that was silenced for demanding good governance and accountability. Politics is a marathon, not a street fight, and it must be approached with patience, discipline, and long-term vision.