The general election held on November 20, 2022, gave a mixed result without favoring any one party to form a government with the required majority. In the election fray, there were big names who inherited the legacy of the parties continuously following from the political change of 1990 onward in plum posts either serving as ministers or leading the government or the party.
Fed-up with mis-governance, deliberate corruption and abuse of powers for petty personal gains, surrounded by cronies, misguided and misused by the internal and external elements, were warned, decried for the foul and vehemently outpoured anger by the enlightened and conscious mass for their missteps and wrong policies endeavors, over time and suggested timely correction of their behavior and reformation of the party functionaries and reorientation of the working culture in tandem with the expectation of the people, but went in vain without any heed. Political wrangling took precedence over service delivery through transparent and accountable manner to meet the peoples’ expectation for socio-economic change, which by and large is a forgotten agenda of the political parties who were at the helm of governing and steering the country toward prosperity and development.
The result is candidly clear with the message that the voters did not like the stewardship of old leadership and their lethargic working style anymore and they want to see a change filled with new vigor and dynamism in the country. The young voters who constitute significant numbers are indifferent toward the contribution and sacrifice the leaders made for the political change which we are exercising now. Inspired and impressed by the global environment in the political domain, these new minds want to see proliferated new ideas and governance with the purpose.
Despite having political changes time and again, the fate of the Nepali people could not change. Thousands of youths are leaving the country every day for foreign employment to find their dream met on foreign soil. The political change could not bring positive changes in the lives of the people even after three decades of political upheavals. Hundreds of thousands of youths and diehard followers, at their prime age, some even dropping out of school, believing in the lofty promises of the political leaders, followed them and took part in political activism and rebelled against the state for good. In fact, having played a significant role in political change in Nepal in 1950, 1990, and 2008, Nepali Congress, and CPN (UML) had the charm to lure youths into its ideological line and sphere. Similarly, a decade-long Maoist insurgency commenced in 1996 and lured many youths from the rural class into its fold.
Having seen the governance and delivery of the political leaders thereafter more of the followers may have regretted sacrificing their life without for any meaningful cause. Many of these youths opted for foreign employment when they did not see their future in Nepal under such a hazy political environment. The People’s mass movement of 2005/6, the peace process, the promulgation of a new constitution, the declaration of the country of federalism and republicanism, or any changes could not transform the society and materialize the expectation of the people and their livelihood. Behind this, many blame for the mis-governance and misplaced priorities, which caused resentment of the people and eroded the belief in the existing political parties.
Frustrated by the leaders, parties, and their ideological and democratic downslide, the young followers are disillusioned and disarrayed from the capability and competency of the old leaders they follow. Disenchanted youths and other voters are not more inclined and lured simply by the ideological attachment or party’s legacy of the past. The emergence of a new independent party led by a rogue media person without having any political base, but the zeal and endeavor for change became the attraction not only of the youth but also of the conscious voters as well. Reverting to the Rastriya Prajatantra Party with electoral votes is also a clear signal that the failure of the old so-called democratic leaders is no more tolerable for the nation, which may revert to keeping trust in the promising one on the lead.
In a clear manifestation, there seems a loss of charm in the old political parties because of the romanticism of ideological fantasy or lofty promises they held for social change had enough room to lure the youths to join their youth or student wing, which is gradually fading away, to some extent, winding down. This is, in fact, a serious concern to be reckoned with by the political parties and introspect. It was an indication of established old parties’ declining popularity with the decreased popular votes in a recently held election.
From the literary perspective, romanticism represents an artistic, intellectual and cultural movement. But in politics, romanticism instigates individual feelings toward nationalism and the emancipation of the poor and downtrodden working for the social cause. In the context of Nepal, from the broader perspective, it is the one point that is seriously missing in the conduct of political parties’ activism and functional delivery.
Romanticism stimulates the ideological leanings for radical changes in society. While speaking romanticism in politics does not fantasize or idealize the individual imagination of love, beauty, and nature but rather devotion to the human cause, upliftment of society, and development.
According to Carl Schmitt (The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy), political romanticism is a concept of political action based on notions of good and evil, justice and injustice, and attacks the political passivity entailed by the romanticism of experience.
The failure of political parties, particularly the left-wing forces, to lure mass voters to their fold, with the mass appeal of nationalist agenda, despite using all the propaganda means, manifests that the voters, this time around, were not interested in the slogan and catchphrases, but the patriotism prevailed and found charm with the optimism in the new faces. The victory of the national independent party and some independent candidates exemplifies thereof.
If the disenchantment of the youths prolongs further in the same manner as seen in the recently held twin elections and reinforces the negative feelings toward political parties without abatement, it would, undoubtedly, be an unhealthy trend toward institutionalizing the new-found democracy in Nepal.
(Bartaula is a former Diplomatic Officer of the Government of Nepal.)
