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BIDUR, Nepal : A candidate was shot while others stayed largely out of sight as campaigning officially began for controversial municipal polls called by Nepal's royal government, which Maoist rebels have threatened to disrupt.
Dal Bahadur Rai, running for mayor of the Kathmandu suburb of Patan, was shot and wounded by a man on a motorcycle and taken to hospital, police told AFP.
Police have not identified the gunman but Maoist rebels have threatened to "take action" against people participating in the polls. Few candidates were out campaigning in the capital.
The February 8 elections are touted by King Gyananedra as the first step in restoring democracy after he seized power last February. Main political parties say they are a sham and are boycotting the polls.
In Bidur, 70 kilometers (40 miles) from the capital Kathmandu, no candidate was out canvassing and many electors said they would not vote in any case.
"I don't know any of the candidates but then again I am not very political," said Maila, a truck driver, who is afraid to give his last name let alone vote.
"I am not going to vote because there are threats from both sides, the army and the Maoists," he said.
Seven police and army checkpoints on the way to Bidur indicate that this is a different world from the cocoon of the capital, where one mayoral candidate prepared Monday to launch his campaign with a motorcycle rally.
"The Maoist threats got a lot of publicity but that is not the reality. I have not received any direct threats," said Kathmandu mayoral candidate Raja Ram Shreshtha of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, which is allied with the government.
Some 300 people were taking part in his motorcycle rally, accompanied by police patrols.
The king has said he sacked the government and seized power to combat the Maoist rebellion that has claimed more than 12,000 lives since 1996.
But last November the Maoists and opposition parties formed a loose alliance to demand elections for a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution for the kingdom.
Private media reported at the weekend that some candidates are living in army camps for fear of Maoist attacks. One prospective candidate was killed by suspected Maoists earlier this month.
Hundreds of candidates who initially registered have already dropped out of the election race "for personal reasons," leaving only 3,028 candidates for 4,146 seats.
In Bidur, the 41 candidates who registered to run for 59 positions are being put up in a guest house in the center of town, with a dozen armed guards.
If they do leave the hotel, they must keep their campaigning to a 300-meter stretch of Bidur's main road. Anything from one to four armed plainclothes escorts will tag along with them.
Although Bidur is not a center of Maoist activity, rebels detonated three home-made bombs here just over a week ago but caused no casualties.
The heavy security has forced at least one candidate to withdraw.
"After I gave my candidacy I had to stay in a guesthouse due to security reasons, so I couldn't see my family and my sick mother," said farmer Yam Prasad Dhungana.
The only campaigning that appears to be going on in Bidur for the moment is by the members of the seven parties boycotting the polls.
"Leaders have been making house calls, and the indication that we have is that people will not come out to vote, and only family members of the candidates will cast votes," said Dhruba Adhikari, president of the Bidur branch of the Nepali Congress, Democratic.
- AFP /ls
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