Pema Gatshel has undoubtedly proved to be a Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) stronghold. Since the first parliamentary election in 2008, no other parties have managed to win in Pema Gatshel.
For the voters in Pema Gatshel, it’s been DPT, do or die, so far. But the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) is seeking to change this.
The DNT President Lotay Tshering, who is in the east on a mission to garner the support of the people there, met with the voters in Shumar Gewog yesterday.
He urged the gathering of a few hundred people to vote for candidate and not party in the upcoming general round election.
“In the general round, it’s important to take into consideration the competency of your constituency candidates while deciding which party to vote for,” he said.
“In the primary round, you choose a party but in the general round, you choose candidates. My hope is that you will all vote for candidate and not party this time,” the DNT President reiterated.
In an attempt to woo them further, DNT President Lotay Tshering said the people must rethink their approach to choosing a party.
“The situation right now is that it’s DPT no matter what. You vote for DPT regardless of who their candidate is. Other parties stand no chance even if they have better candidates,” he told the gathering.
“I think the DPT president has no reason to come here because he knows he has your unconditional support. A lot of people advised me not to go to Pema Gatshel. They said there’s no point going there because it’s DPT stronghold. They said it would just be a waste of my time and resources,” he said.
He added that standing by DPT unconditionally will not do them any good.
“You stand to lose in terms of development because DPT could take you all for granted and not care enough to bring development here since you all support DPT under all circumstances. Other parties will not care because they will say you all didn’t choose them. This could cost you in terms of developmental activities.”
If the past elections are anything to go by, winning the hearts of people in Pema Gatshel has proved to be near to impossible for the political parties other than DPT.
If the DNT manages to topple DPT in Pema Gatshel in the upcoming election, they would make history as the first party ever to break what seems like an unshakable faith that the people of Pema Gatshel have in DPT.
