From promising to increase the size of the economy to NRs 10 trillion (about US$77 billion) and raise per capita income to US$2,500 to US$3,000, to creating more than one million jobs a year and tripling or even quadrupling electricity generation, Nepali parties have promised the moon as Nepal goes to vote in a landmark election on March 5.
The parties have already published their manifestos and are now on the campaign trail promising not only development but also an end to corruption and good governance – the Gen Z protests of last September that called for the election.
But analysts are cautious. While they are skeptical of the parties’ over-ambitious plans, they point to the risk that this election will turn into another regular vote that may not offer solutions to some of the key political problems plaguing Nepal.
Tara Nath Dahal, a civil rights activist and campaigner for open government, says a hung parliament is almost certain to revive the same revolving door policy, albeit with new actors and faces.
“Neither party seems to have paid attention to the crucial laws, including those related to the media and social media, that need to be passed,” Dahal said. “It’s strange that the parties have forgotten that the Gen Z protests had their roots in the then government’s move to ban social media platforms.”
More than 60 parties and more than 3,000 candidates are running for the 275-member House of Representatives, which consists of 165 directly elected members and 110 elected by proportional representation.
Nepal’s tech-savvy youth took to the streets on September 8-9 last year, prompting a sudden decision by the then KP Sharma Oli government to ban at least 26 social media platforms.
They demonstrated against entrenched corruption, years of misrule, nepotism and cronyism and demanded change.
A total of 77 people lost their lives during the two-day protest, 19 people died in police shooting on the first day.
Mr. Oli resigned on September 9. An interim government led by Sushila Karki was formed on 12 September; dissolved the House and called early polls for March 5.
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High promises
Campaigns are now in full swing. Some analysts say that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is experiencing a surge. The RSP is a relatively new party, formed just six months before the 2022 election, promising to grow the economy to $100 billion, raise per capita income to more than $3,000 and create 1.2 million jobs.
Nepal’s Congress, a divided house since January’s turmoil within the party, is fighting elections under new leadership. The party promised a $79.9 billion economy, a per capita income of $2,500 and 1.5 million jobs every year for five years.
Mr Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) said in its manifesto that the economy would expand to $69.4 billion in five years and then double to $138.8 billion in ten years.
The Ujyalo Nepal Party, a new political force led by Kulman Ghising, a former technocrat who helped end Nepal’s decades-long power outages, aims for 12,000 MW of electricity generation by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2035.
Analysts say given the context of the current economy, where Nepal’s nominal GDP is roughly $45.5 billion, GDP per capita is around $1,535, one in five people are unemployed and the country’s current electricity generation is 3,878 MW, almost all parties have made big claims without providing any concrete plans – or a clear resource management model.
Mr. Dahal says it’s absurd that neither party has talked about how it’s going to institutionalize the demands of the Gen Z movement.
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Incomplete manifests
“Every party talks about development and ending corruption. But development is a political process, corruption is rooted in the system and culture,” he said. “Their manifestos lack political commitment and the will to achieve it.”
Most parties made the September protests a point of reference without acknowledging their demands. However, the Nepali Congress explicitly mentioned and incorporated the Gen-Z uprising, but also focused its manifesto on the economy and development.
This time, the parties named their basic documents differently, some call it a commitment document and others a civil contract or promise document.
Regardless, what Nepalese society is looking for is change, says Dr. Pramod Jaiswal, director of research at the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement, a think tank based in Kathmandu.
“It will be a mistake to assume that after the elections, this country will immediately be on the road to development,” he said. “We can expect to definitely see some change in Nepal’s political scene.”
According to him, the new force, which could be the RSP, is likely to change the traditional composition of the parliament or even get a chance to lead the government.
“If they do, they will be under pressure not to repeat the mistakes of the old parties,” he said. “That might make some difference.
No matter which parties commit, even if their promises are realistic, achieving these goals will not be easy unless the party wins a majority and leads the government for five years.
In a country where structural constraints have long hampered development efforts, promises will have to be exchanged when coalition practices are repeated, Mr. Dahal says.
“So these manifestos hardly mean anything,” he added. “This election will most likely return us to the same coalition fragility.”
Published – 28 Feb 2026 22:53 IST
