Once upon a time, Union Parishad (UP) elections were a competition for personal acceptance, social status, and local leadership. A candidate’s social acceptance, his or her mentality of standing by the people, and his or her ability to lead were more important than which political party he or she supported.
But that reality changed after the UP elections were held on party symbols in 2016. Local elections came under the influence of national politics, centered on various symbols including boats, rice sheaves, and plows.
With this, party divisions, violence, lawsuits, nomination disputes, and social conflict began to increase.
The government’s decision to hold this year’s Union Parishad elections without party symbols has sparked fresh debate.
A large section of local representatives, political analysts and voters believe that this could restore the lost balance of the local government system to some extent. However, their warning message is that it is not enough to just remove the symbols; there is a need for free, fair and impartial elections, a neutral role of the administration and a voting environment free from the influence of black money and muscle power.