With Prime Minister Sushila Karki intensifying talks with political parties, civil society members and other stakeholders—and with back-channel initiatives underway—the political climate for the March 5 elections was gradually building up. However, things suddenly deteriorated on Wednesday after a group of youths identifying themselves as Gen Z-ers clashed with CPN-UML cadres in Bara. The Bara administration enforced a daylong curfew, and even halted Simara airport on Wednesday after the protesting youths vandalised the airport gate. The administration resumed curfew on Thursday as tension flared in Simara after the youths returned to the street demanding action against UML cadres.

The violence in Bara has underscored the need for the current stakeholders in national politics to act more responsibly. It is unfortunate that with less than four months before elections, they continue to engage in provocative statements and actions. UML chair KP Sharma Oli has been at the forefront of the attack on the Karki administration. Almost every day, he lashes out at the government and rules out elections under it. He also pokes fun at the September Gen Z movement. Most of his statements are troubling as he provokes UML youths to launch a counterattack against the ‘UML bashers’.

Oli and a few other UML leaders are giving more provocative statements even after Wednesday’s incident. The party has every right to convene rallies, gatherings and interact with the general public. Yet they, like all credible democratic forces, should refrain from provoking violence of any kind, under any pretext. As the party’s secretariat meeting begins Thursday, we expect moderate voices in the party to speak up on this.

We should learn from the past. Madhesh-based districts have witnessed some gruesome incidents when rival groups have clashed over organising a gathering at the same venue. In 2007, 27 Maoists were brutally killed in Gaur when the Maoist party and then Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum held mass gatherings at the same venue in Gaur, Rautahat turning it into a battleground. In 2017, three persons were killed when police opened fire after a violent clash with Madhesi Morcha cadres who were trying to foil UML’s rally in Rajbiraj, Saptari.

On the other hand, a section of Gen Z groups are adding to the complications. They can engage in things like mounting pressure on the government and lobbying to address their demands, but they can’t prohibit a political party from organising its events. The Simara incident is tantamount to trying to bar rival forces from reaching out to the general public. If a group prefers to identify as Gen Z-ers and as members of the youth uprising for change, they have to be equally responsible. The focus of the Gen Z groups should be to make the March 5 polls successful, convert the public support they have earned into votes and institutionalise the recent achievements. They must not engage in any activity that damages the election environment.

A sensitive juncture like this demands a role of the civil society as well. Nepal’s civil society played a commendable part in ending decade-long Maoist insurgency, bringing the former rebels in the political mainstream and persuading them to take part in elections. Prime Minister Karki also recently sought civil society’s support in making the elections successful. They can indeed mediate between different feuding political actors in order to create a conducive environment for the polls. But even for that to happen the provocative statements and manoeuvers from the major stakeholders in Nepali politics must stop. Or undemocratic elements are sure to get a big boost.