Balen Shah Unveils Election Manifesto for Jhapa-5

Kathmandu: Balen Shah, a candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party for Jhapa-5 in the upcoming House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, has released his election manifesto.

While unveiling the manifesto, he stated that as a federal parliamentarian, he will stand at the forefront of the parliament against irregularities and corruption. He committed to strongly raising development issues concerning Jhapa-5 within national policies and budgets, and promised to effectively monitor development projects across federal, provincial, and local levels in coordination with relevant ministries.

He mentioned that he would continuously present the problems and voices of local citizens in parliament, ensure the full, transparent, and timely implementation of agreements between the Government of Nepal and the Zen Z, and create an environment where local and provincial government plans are executed swiftly and effectively from the federal level.

Balen expressed his commitment to leading the implementation of the Rastriya Swatantra Party's "Commitment Paper 2082 - Resolve to Establish Order." He vowed to ensure the necessary laws, budgets, and effective implementation to practically provide all citizens with basic needs guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal—such as food, housing, health, education, drinking water, employment, social security, and a clean environment—while promising not to enter into any agreements against the national interest.

In Jhapa-5, he pledged to establish a systematic parliamentary secretariat to address local concerns. He stated that his politics is based on service, honesty, and results. He committed to ensuring the right of children from poor and marginalized families to receive quality education, implementing the "Education with Skills" program as seen in Kathmandu Metropolitan City to reduce the compulsion for students to go abroad, and reconstructing the historic Tribhuvan Library in Gauriganj to operate it as a digital research center.

The manifesto mentions that the Damak-Ravi Chisapani road will be completed and brought into operation as soon as possible. In line with the spirit of "Our Stadium, Our Identity," an "Adivasi Janajati Stadium" reflecting the culture and history of indigenous communities will be built, and the construction of Virat Buddha Park will be completed.

Similarly, in the fields of agriculture and employment, the utility of arable land will be increased by expanding the Kankai-Ratuwa irrigation project and using lift irrigation technology. He stated that the "Labor Bank" concept will be implemented in every municipality, and the "Gauradaha Agriculture Storage Center" will be established, featuring both cold storage and dryers in one location.

He promised to simplify the cumbersome process of obtaining citizenship in the mother's name, ensure financial access at subsidized rates through the "Women's Agriculture Loan Program" to encourage women in agriculture, and run employment promotion programs targeting people with disabilities and single women through skill-based training.

Furthermore, in the tourism and industrial sectors, he mentioned that arrangements would be made to operate the Gauriganj customs office in a systematic and transparent manner and implement border tourism development plans.

Regarding sports, he announced that a multi-dimensional sports academy would be built with the goal of producing national and international level players and coaches. He aimed to contribute to the overall development of Jhapa-5's economy, tourism, and sports by promoting the Damak Gold Cup professionally at national and international levels, while protecting and upgrading open playgrounds as needed.

In health, he committed to ensuring the right of poor and marginalized families to receive medical treatment. He pledged to strictly implement the legal provision requiring hospitals to allocate ten percent of their total beds for free treatment of the poor, helpless, and unclaimed patients. His commitments also include upgrading Damak Hospital to a 300-bed facility in the first phase.