In the far-flung village of Khijiphalate in Okhaldhunga district of Nepal’s eastern hills, Dendi Sherpa is simply happy to see a political campaign unfolding in his locality. For him, it at least means some spending and a temporary revival of business after a prolonged dry spell.

“After months, I have seen my business get a boost for at least three weeks,” said Sherpa, owner of Norlahi Sherpa Hotel and Lodge.

Sherpa has lived through a familiar cycle—working abroad and then returning home to start a business. There was a time when tourists frequently passed through Okhaldhunga en route to the 4,065-metre Pikey Peak in the lower Khumbu valley of the Everest region, one of Nepal’s short and off-beat trekking routes. Now, he barely sees them.

“Villages are getting empty as youths are leaving in droves as there are no jobs. Who will fix all this?” he asked.

For Sherpa, elections have become ritualistic events—accompanied by lofty pledges that are forgotten after the ballots are counted.

Over the past three decades, Nepal has earned an unenviable reputation for political instability and recurring scandals that have sown the seeds of systemic corruption. High-profile cases—from the Bhutanese refugee scam and the Lalita Niwas land scam to cooperative fraud, gold smuggling cases to aircraft procurement controversies—have dented public trust and weighed on the economy.

Young people are migrating abroad in record numbers. Nepalis living overseas now account for nearly 14 percent of the country’s working-age population. Remittance inflows are equivalent to around 24 percent of the gross domestic product, one of the highest shares in the world. At the same time, the country remains vulnerable to natural disasters and frequent air and road accidents that claim hundreds of lives each year and strain the economy.

Despite the grim outlook, Sherpa remains cautiously optimistic. A capable leadership, he believes, could still alter the country’s trajectory.

Against this backdrop, major political parties have unveiled their election manifestos this week. Critics, however, describe them as “beautiful prose” detached from harsh economic realities.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party, or RSP, backed by former Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, has put forward some of the most ambitious targets. The relatively new party, which emerged strongly after the 2022 elections, has pledged to generate 30,000 megawatts of electricity within 10 years and expand energy exports through improved regional diplomacy.

It aims to increase per capita electricity consumption to 1,500 kilowatt-hours per year by 2035, up from the current 465 kWh. The party has also promised to double tourist numbers and spending within five years and to fully operationalise the two international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara, both often described as ‘geopolitically loaded’ projects. It has pledged to dismantle syndicates in the transport sector.

The RSP envisions an annual economic growth rate of 7 percent over five years, laying the foundation for a middle-income country status with an economy worth $100 billion, up from the current $49 billion, and increasing per capita GDP from $1,447 to $3,000.

The party has promised to complete all national pride projects within two years and raise exports to $30 billion within a decade from the current $1.5 billion, largely through the promotion of the IT sector. It has also pledged to investigate the assets of public office holders since the democratic transition of 1990, and to create 500,000 jobs.

The CPN-UML manifesto also places strong emphasis on youth engagement, jobs and innovation, particularly in the wake of recent Gen Z protests that rattled the party leadership. Targeting voters aged 18 to 28, the party has promised 10 GB of free mobile data per month for a year, dollar cards worth up to $10,000 for young people and entrepreneurs, interest-free student loans of up to Rs2 million and paid internship schemes.

Guided by its communist ideology, the UML envisions a welfare state and aims for annual economic growth of 7 to 9 percent. The party says it will expand the size of the national economy to Rs10 trillion within five years and Rs20 trillion within 10 years. It has set a target of creating 1.2 million jobs over five years, though it does not detail the specific basis for this projection.

Other commitments include promoting the private sector, attracting foreign investment and advancing a green economy to sustain growth of above 7 percent. The manifesto promises collateral-free loans of up to Rs2 million for entrepreneurial women through banks and financial institutions, along with free insurance coverage for businesses and loans.

It also pledges to double transport allowances for pregnant women travelling to health institutions for check-ups and to waive loans of up to Rs25,000 taken by poor households until mid-September 2025. Such families would also be enrolled in a contribution-based social security system.

The party plans to double tourist arrivals within five years by developing infrastructure, promoting markets, expanding air services and strengthening internal security. In coordination with provincial and local governments, it aims to expand irrigation to an additional 300,000 hectares within five years, raising irrigation coverage to 75 percent arable land.

Likewise, the Nepali Congress has unveiled its manifesto with a goal of attracting three million tourists annually within ten years and increasing tourism’s contribution to 20 percent of the GDP. It has pledged to strengthen the management of Nepal Airlines Corporation within six months and transform it into a true “flag carrier of the people.”

Within five years, the party says it will create at least 1.5 million dignified and productive jobs and reduce the number of people leaving for foreign employment by 50 percent. It plans to increase per capita electricity consumption to 750 units and installed capacity to 14,000 megawatts, while advancing large hydropower projects such as the 1,200 MW Budhi Gandaki, and 670 MW Dudhkoshi.

The party also aims to raise the contribution of the IT sector to 5 percent of GDP, export services worth Rs400 billion and create at least 100,000 high-quality jobs in the sector within five years.

Similarly, the Nepal Communist Party led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has pledged to reduce multidimensional poverty to 10 percent and achieve annual economic growth exceeding 10 percent over the next five years.

The party says it will create 150,000 additional jobs each year, ensure employment for 500,000 youths annually, and generate an additional 10,000 megawatts of hydropower within five years.

Sanjib Humagain, a political analyst with a doctorate in political economy from Yonsei University in South Korea, said the manifestos are different this time in that they focus less on ideological “-isms” and more on economic growth and employment.

“Words are beautiful in all documents. But there are no bases to ensure the parties will implement them,” he said, pointing to gaps between programmes and practical execution.

He questioned proposals such as free higher education, asking whether private institutions would agree and how such initiatives would be financed in a resource-constrained economy.

“Before the election, all parties should be held accountable for the basis of their commitments. Everything needs to be crystal clear,” he said.

Economists remain sceptical.

Chandra Mani Adhikari said that while the manifestos now emphasise jobs and growth, they are neither research-based nor evidence-driven.

“Every document introduced by the political parties is unrealistic. It has confused voters again,” he said.

He said that both the UML’s target of raising the economy to Rs10 trillion within five years and the RSP’s ambition of expanding it to $100 billion would require massive investment. Achieving such outcomes would demand sustained double-digit annual growth.

“To achieve this growth, the government would need to inject Rs2.2 trillion into the economy annually, compared to the current Rs800 billion,” Adhikari said. “The economy’s output depends on the level of investment.”

Investment, he added, depends heavily on political stability—something Nepal has struggled to maintain. The prospect of a hung parliament, where no party secures an absolute majority, could further complicate matters.

For an economy already under strain, additional obstacles such as grey-listing risks would further deter investment.

For the younger generation, reassurance that their aspirations will be addressed at home is crucial. That requires leadership willing to pursue genuine reforms and ensure stability.

For people like Sherpa in Okhaldhunga, the priorities are basic: jobs, roads, drinking water, electricity and a functioning health system.

“Nepal is a glaring example of mismatch between high rhetoric and actual achievements, which politicians have been giving us for decades,” Sherpa said.

“We see this being repeated.”