The Bhutanese Leading the way.
While the idea of interacting individually and explaining things clearly in local dialects offers an excellent prospective, the timing is in ill-favor of the opportunity as farmers can hardly break away from their fields to meet and greet the candidates from the four parties
With the completion of common forum for Sergithang-Tsirangtoe constituency yesterday, the party candidates are now set on the door-to-door campaigning, starting from today till May 28. However, candidates are in two minds on the opportunity to personally meet with the voters.
The reason being of an occupational nature, that of voters, all being farmers who need to till their land and do intensive field work during this time of the year.
The candidates have to cover six gewogs in 11 days’ time and have tight schedules. The candidates say it is a challenge to have to call upon and meet the people in every household. And given that people are busy with their field works, it is an added challenge for the politicians.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate designate Novin Darlami will start from Gosarling gewog and plans to end his campaign in Dunglagang gewog.
“It will basically help people understand more of what they understood through the common forum. On the same note, they expect the candidates to be there at their place for better understanding,” he said.
“I feel that door-to-door campaign is ineffective because of the summer season because people are busy with field works, household chores and they hardly have time to sit and listen to know more about the parties,” he added.
The DCT candidate designate Sangay Tamang plans to start from Rangthangling gewog. He believes more than 50% people might not have understood what was spoken during the common forum, and therefore, finds door to door visits more promising.
But at the same time he thinks the season of heavy field activities which clashes with the campaign period will prove to be a challenge.
“As a candidate when we go from door to door, less people are found at home and most of the time they are found locked because it’s mid-summer, and everyone is tending to their fields,” he said.
DNT’s Chhatraman Chhetri improvising on the situation said, “Even if they’re not at home, I will go to the fields and spend few minutes.”
“But at the same time we need to communicate with them, they need to know our manifesto, they need to know what our party stands for,” he added.
The DNT candidate will start his campaign from Dunglagang gewog.
Meanwhile, DPT’s candidate designate Udya Chandra Bhandari will also start campaigning from Dunglagang gewog.
He said things have worked as both advantage and disadvantage because people are not home during day, but at the same time, it is more effective because people can understand better through local dialects.
Sergithang-Tsirangtoe constituency has about 10,087 eligible voters and 897 eligible postal ballot voters.
