Hectic schedules for two presidents in the south

Phuentsholing, November 21: With the acceleration of the familiarization tours to southern districts, the presidents of the two parties race for their votes this week. Southern districts are the major source of votes that determine the fate of parties to be the ruler or the opponent.

The tour concentrated on Samtse and Sarpang districts where people listened to their speeches, mostly delivered on Nepali. They reacted it was their secret vote and will be decided once they become familiar with both the parties.

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Sangay Ngedup, the king’s uncle, said his party has same strategy for all districts, not specifically to this region while Druk Phuensum Tshokpa (DPT) president Jigme Y. Thinley without telling anything of regional politics, stated his party’s priority will be just to educate voters of ballots and voting rights.

However, Thinely repeatedly mentioned the need of people from the district to have faith on Tsa-Wa-Sum, that has been developed as the toll to evacuate the southern districts in early 1990s.

Ngedup, in contrast, praised the people in these southern districts for being politically conscious and that they are capable to make good choices during the elections next year.

PDP has excessively distributed the forms to be filled by the people to confirm that they belong to that party. In many cases, all members in a family are coerced to fill the forms. Instead, DPT adopts a second strategy, to draw votes through public functions and speeches. 

The issue of security, that the royal regime had been talking of the south since 1990, was also discussed during the tour by both the party presidents.

Generally, DPT seemed to have more hold in the southern districts because in several places people boycotted meetings of PDP. This forced PDP to use money. Several trucks were reserved to help people travel from their villages to meeting grounds. In many places, PDP distributed fruit juices to those coming to attend the meetings.

PDP started its trip on November 17 and met over 30,000 people in four constituencies in Samtse’s Tendu, Bara, Sibsoo, Biru, Yoeseltse, Ugyentse, Samtse and Chengmari villages.

In every meeting, groups of people, brought in trucks hired by party supporters, carried cups and plates as they poured into the meeting grounds. Some joined the meetings halfway and towards the end.

On the same day, DPT president began his tour in the south to meet thousands of people in nine places of Sarpang and Samtse districts.

He held meetings in Lhamoizingkha, Chengmari, Gumauni, Chargarey, Sipsu and Yoeseltse villages.

Both the presidents head to south east from the west. Actions are yet to be observed if the wounds of 1990 in the south will be healed, to avoid disasters and confrontations. In Phuentshling, people raised their issue of being suppressed since 1990 and leaders assured justice. Bhutan News Service