Junichande Rural Municipality in Jajarkot district is the poorest among Nepal’s 753 local units, according to government statistics. For 24-year-old Neera Shahi of ward 6 of the rural municipality, that label is not just a statistic but a harsh reality.

Currently studying for a Diploma in Pharmacy at Mangalsen Polytechnic Institute in Achham, Shahi finds herself torn between professional ambition and the grim prospects of her home village. The upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for March 5 will be her first opportunity to vote.

“I am learning which medicines to prescribe. But which election will bring the medicine to cure my village’s remoteness and poverty?” Neera said this week while talking to the Post. “We don’t need grand dreams. We need a reliable road to reach the hospital when someone falls ill, and we need basic medicines like paracetamol at our health post.”

Her concerns reflect broader challenges—fragile rural road networks that become impassable during the monsoon, understaffed health facilities with frequent medicine shortages, and youth migration driven by limited local opportunities.

Neera complained that Junichande is too often portrayed merely as a recipient of subsidised rice. “In the monsoon, landslides block the road and vehicles carrying patients get stranded midway. Even now, when a woman goes into labour, the only option is to charter a helicopter,” she said. “Who in a poor settlement can afford to spend hundreds of thousands of rupees on that? If there is no doctor and not even paracetamol at the local health post, what’s the point of my studying pharmacy?”

She lists the essentials her rural municipality needs: an all-weather road and bridge to help locally harvested medicinal herbs and local produce to markets; a well-equipped hospital with sanctioned posts filled by doctors; technical education closer to home; policies to retain educated youth locally; extension of the national electricity grid, and reliable internet access.

As electioneering intensifies across the country, first-time voters in some of Nepal’s most impoverished local units say they are unmoved by lofty slogans. Instead, they are asking questions that have echoed for decades: when will roads, reliable healthcare and meaningful jobs reach their villages?

Eighteen-year-old Sushil Bohara from ward 2 of Bitthadchir Rural Municipality in Bajhang, also a pharmacy student in Mangalsen, shares Neera’s frustration. Like Neera, he will cast his first vote on March 5.

“Our generation (Gen Z) has heard enough promises from leaders, on the radio, on television, and from our parents. We no longer need speechmakers. We need leaders like doctors who can truly treat Bajhang’s suffering,” said Sushil. He argues that voters should prioritise competence over party loyalty.

“Bulldozers ran in the name of development, but instead of connecting villages, roads triggered landslides,” he said, referring to haphazard rural road construction. “The earthquake destroyed not just houses but people’s confidence. Old parties made history, but they have not fixed the present. New parties show energy, but whether they understand the reality of remote districts remains to be tested.”

Sushil describes his vote as ‘an investment in the future’, not blind allegiance to any party. He believes that voices from Bitthadchir and other remote settlements can pressure candidates to adopt concrete development agendas rather than rhetorical ones.

Dabal Budha, another student studying in Mangalsen, shares similar views. A permanent resident of ward 4 of Turmakhand Rural Municipality in Achham, Dabal said the district’s long-standing poverty demands a clear and credible roadmap. Achham has consistently ranked among the poorest districts nationwide, with outmigration, food insecurity and weak infrastructure frequently highlighted in national reporting.

“Plans written on paper are nothing new. We have heard many. But we have not seen implementation. Now we want results, not slogans this time,” said Dabal. He stressed the urgent need to upgrade the Mangalsen-Jangalghat-Chisapani road section and to complete the concrete bridge under construction at Jangalghat. “Only when roads and bridges are built properly does the local economy start moving. We need a representative who will push projects forward, not just deliver speeches,” he reiterated.

As polling day approaches, the aspirations of these first-time voters point to a recurring theme in the country’s democratic journey—generational change does not automatically resolve structural neglect. For young people in Junichande, Bitthadchir and Turmakhand, the ballot is less about ideology and more about survival, dignity and development.