Nepal: Prime Minister Prachanda says Madhesi have to pay terrible price for boycotting polls

Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda on Friday warns Madhes-centric parties will have to pay a "terrible price" if they rejected to participate in the local-level elections on May 14.

The government has maintained utmost flexibility to address the concerns of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha, an alliance of seven Madhes-centric parties, to bring it on board the election process, Prachanda, also the chairman of the Maoist party, said while addressing an election rally organised by CPN (Maoist Centre) in Birtamod in Jhapa.

The alliance will pay a terrible price if it turns down the government's request to participate in the local-level elections, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

The Prime Minister said that he would try to convince the agitating Madhesis to participate in the polls. In case the Morcha leaders refused to participate in the local elections, the decision will only hurt them and their reputation, Prachanda said.

The people will reject Morcha if it decided to boycott the elections, he said, adding that the elections will be conducted in a single phase on May 14.

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On Thursday, six prominent Madhesi parties merged to form Rastirya Janata Party. The six parties that have merged include Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party, Sadbhawana Party, Rastriya Madhes Samajvadi Party, Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party, Madhesi Jan adhikar Forum-Ganatantrik and Nepal Sadbhawana Party.

The six parties have 24 lawmakers in the Parliament. The Madhesi parties, who claim to represent the interests of inhabitants of the southern Terai region who are mostly of Indian-origin, demand that the Constitution promulgated in 2015 be amended to revise the provisions of citizenship and re-demarcation of the provincial boundary before going to the polls.

Although they have announced to boycott the polls, Prachanda-led coalition government is making efforts to bring them to the electoral process so as to implement the Constitution.