The CPN-UML, the party to which former Nepal PM KP Sharma belongs, officially launched its election campaign for parliamentary and provincial polls from Darchula district by holding its first canvassing rally on Friday. The selection of the area was well thought out. In June 2020, when Oli was PM, Parliament unanimously endorsed a bill to amend the Constitution of Nepal to update the country’s political map by incorporating Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, which are currently under Indian control. The areas are officially part of Darchula district. By commencing its election campaign from the district, the UML has signaled that it wants to contest the upcoming elections on a nationalistic plank. “We won’t allow a single inch of our land to be encroached upon. I am here to guarantee that [the area returns to Nepal],” Oli told the rally. We chose Darchula because we have a border dispute [with India] there; the locals were also demanding that the UML start its campaign there,” Bishnu Rimal, the party’s deputy general secretary, told The Kathmandu Post.
