India, Feb. 20 -- Madhes is the epicentre for electoral politics in the run up to Nepal's polls Party flags and banners wave from electric poles, houses and e-rickshaws are festooned with posters. Madhes Province is in the grip of election fever, and in a tour through four of its districts, there is the sense that any efforts by mainstream political parties at reforms have come too little too late.

Among the banners, the sky blue of the RSP is more prominent here this time, and the rallying cry across the country for new and improved leadership is echoed on the ground.

"For the people around here, whatever these old leaders are saying has become just noise," says a lassi shop operator in Janakpur, waving a dismissive hand at flags with ...