If Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba wins the upcoming federal parliamentary election, this will be his sixth straight victory after the restoration of democracy in 1990. But challenges for the four-time prime minister cannot be overlooked in his home constituency Dadeldhura in the remote far-western hills.

The recently formed left alliance, Deuba’s failure to create jobs and rift in the Congress party are some of the obstacles to his victory.

Even as NC and opposition leaders say his stature and initiatives to build roads and water supply schemes in the district bolster chances of Deuba’s victory, he is no longer in the comfort zone.

The 73-year-old PM is pitted against left alliance candidate Khaga Raj Bhatta, 41, of the CPN (Maoist Centre). Bhatta owns a livestock farm in Thankot, Kathmandu.

Deuba has won all the elections here since 1990. This is a third fight between Deuba and Bhatta, who lost both the Constituent Assembly elections. In the first CA polls, there was margin of 1,300 votes but in the second CA polls Deuba maintained a lead of more than 12,000 votes over Bhatta.

In the recently concluded local elections, the votes of allies CPN-UML and the Maoists combined exceeded that received by the NC. Naya Shakti Party, Nepal and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which have announced to support the NC candidate, have small numbers of supporters.

The left alliance is trying to convince voters that Deuba would no longer be in power when the left alliance musters a majority. In the past, even voters from the leftist parties voted for Deuba considering his height, said Bhatta. “This time, they won’t vote for him because the left parties are united.” He claimed that even NC leaders were dissatisfied with Deuba for preventing leadership growth in the past 27 years.

Despite Deuba’s contribution to some areas of infrastructure development, there is resentment among common voters that he did little to create jobs in the region.

Chudamani Joshi, a teacher at Bhubaneshwori Higher Secondary School in Dadeldhura, said unemployment is a pressing concern in the district. “There are no big industries. There are also no schools providing technical education,” he said, adding that there is no proper hospital in the four-time prime minister’s home district.

Some youths close to NC leaders, however, are employed in the non-governmental organisations managed by Congress leaders, mainly PM’s spouse Arzoo Rana Deuba.

Intra-party rift is another challenge for Deuba.

In the recently concluded local level elections, according to leaders, the NC lost Amargadi Municipality, a Congress stronghold since 1990, due to internal disunity. Deuba was in Dadeldhura for three days to resolve the differences.

“There is no dispute in the party now,” said NC District President Karna Bahadur Malla. NC leader Nain Singh Mahar, who also chairs the Nepal Student Union, said the left unity had forced Congress cadres to patch up.

After the left unity, Deuba is said to have picked candidates for the state assemblies and PR candidates for federal parliament accommodating all factions.