People in Jahada Village Council, which lies near Nepal-India border in Morang, have urged the government to amend the constitution before holding the second phase of local election scheduled to take place on June 14.

They have said for a successful election the government should amend the constitution to create new administrative units based on population distribution.

The Madhes-based parties have also pushed for the amendment of the constitution to restructure the existing local units. However, the Jahada locals claim that restructuring of the local units is more of a popular demand than a political one.

Even those villagers who support non-Madhes-centric parties are also in favour of restructuring.

Laxman Mandal, of Necha village, said nearly 95 percent of the people are in favour of adding new constituencies before the local polls and not everyone of them are supporters of Madhes-based parties.

Raj Kumar Chaudhary, who supports the CPN-UML— one party that has vociferously opposed the constitution amendment proposal, said the government and the political parties should amend the constitution without any delay in view of the upcoming elections, which is not far away.

The Jahada locals have also expressed dismay over lack of enthusiasm on the part of local political parties regarding the election.

Not a single party has started campaigning for the election which is only three weeks away.

Ganga Prasad Mandal, the headmaster of Janata Secondary School in Pokhariya, said while the talk about election can be heard everywhere, from teashops to offices, among daily wage workers to business owners, the political parties do not seem excited nor prepared for the upcoming election.