Kapil Khanal alo known as Choplal of Arghakhanchi is the proportional representation candidate of the House of Representatives (HoR) elections scheduled for November 20.
He is now in New Delhi, India when he should be active in his home district to seek votes.
Perhaps, the Indian 'proverb' was made especially for Choplal -- Ganga Ulti Behti Hai! (The Ganga River flows in the opposite direction).
"You are a candidate for a member of the House of Representatives, why do you go to Delhi when you should have been active in Nepal asking for votes?"
Responding to the question from Nepalkhabar, Choplal said that he came to India to seek votes.
On the streets of Sarita Bihar in New Delhi, a Nepali youth wearing a yellow t-shirt was serving Indian customers with Momo. This is a proof that even though small businessmen have been disallowed to use the sidewalks of Kathmandu for selling goods, the streets of Delhi under Kejriwal's rule are open for the poor.
It was seen that the business of the youth who came to India to sell Momo without finding employment opportunities in the country was going well. However, there were no signs of glee on his face, but frustration and exhaustion.
This Nepali teenager who sells Momo in Delhi was from Gulmi-- the homes districts of the second-third generation veteran leaders like Gokarna Bista, Pradeep Gyawali, Ramkumari Jhankri and Chandra Bhandari.
Do you know who is contesting elections from your area in Gulmi? Ramkumari Jhankri, Gokarna Bista or someone else?'
He could not or did not want to answer this question. After paying 70 rupees, we ate a plate of Momo and went on our way.
In the streets of Delhi, most of the vendors were Nepalis. Indians go out in the open streets in the evening and enjoy the Momo made by Nepalis. Such a scene can be seen not only in Sarita Bihar, but in every nook and cranny of New Delhi.
Some Nepalis were found on the roof of a three-story building in Delhi's Badarpur. One of these was Kapil Khanal, a candidate for the House of Representatives under the proportional representation system. Another was Thakur Khanal, central president of Mool Pravah Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj, an organization of migrant Nepalis supported by Rastriya Jana Morcha. And, the third person was Dhanbir Pun, the coordinator of 'Nepali Samachar' published from Delhi.
The three-storied building in Delhi where Jana Morcha leaders live is the organization's own. This building was built by raising donations from migrant Nepali workers in India.
President Thakur informed about the building and said, "From 1979 to 2003, our organization was operating in a small room. After 2003 we bought this land and built a house."
Rastriya Jana Morcha has nominated seven expatriate Nepali candidates for the November 20 elections, four in the House of Representatives and three in the Provincial Assembly. However, these candidates are not in Nepal. In India, the expatriates are asking for votes from Nepalis.
Jana Morcha candidate Kapil, who hails from Arghakhanchi and has been living in India for decades, told Nepalkhabar, "Millions of Nepali voters are here in Delhi." Votes of Nepalis in India are important to win elections. We are trying to bring them back to their country.
Kapil Khanal (Choplal) is the proportional representation candidate of the House of Representatives.
Kapil said, "The November 20 elections is a battle between progressive and regressive forces." Since the role of Nepalis in India is important in defeating regression, we are embarking on a campaign to bring them back to Nepal. We hope that many Nepalis will return to Nepal to vote.
Thakur, the central president of Nepali Ekta Samaj, who met with the candidate Kapil, also says that they left Nepal and came to India with two purposes: returning the voters in Delhi to Nepal during the election and financial support for the candidates of the Jana Morcha.
What is the situation of Nepali expatriates in South Asia including India?
The policy of the Nepalese government on Nepali diaspora does not include Nepalis in South Asia. Whether we are migrant Nepalis or not is a question mark. Even now, nearly 10 million Nepalis are abroad. Around 50 percent of them are in India, i.e., 5 million.
Jana Morcha’s overseas sister organization is strong in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Hyderabad and Maharashtra. The association claimed that it has around 400,000 to 500,000 members.
Besides, major parties of Nepal including Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center) CPN-UML, RPP have also their overseas sister organizations in India, said Khanal.
