With 32 days left for the election, only the JSP and the Rastriya Janamorcha have released their manifestos, while other parties are still in the process of preparing. While writing their manifestos, they aim to win the hearts of voters by showing themselves to be different and unique from others. For that, there has been a trend of identifying and presenting new and attractive issues. In this process, the parties are not seen to be accountable for their own promises made in the previous elections.

The tendency to seek new agendas after elections but forget the old ones is increasing the frustration among the people. Whether it is a new promise or an old agenda that has not been fulfilled, citizens are being forced to vote in such a mood. Therefore, the manifestos issued by the parties for this election should include a review of their old manifestos and a satisfactory answer to the failure to implement them. Only that will increase the credibility of the party and the candidate. It will also protect the manifesto from being a lie.

The first general election was held in 2015. At that time, the parties and independent candidates had put forward an agenda to clarify the status of the then society and the direction they wanted to take the society. Agendas such as citizens being free to practice their religion, making primary education compulsory and free throughout the country, abolishing the treaty related to Gorkha recruitment, providing equal wages for women workers for equal work, and providing for the 'right to recall' were raised by the parties and independent candidates at that time.

Numerous new agendas have been added to the society after 6 decades. The parties are also writing down their agendas. However, the agendas of that time have not been implemented. Even now, the issue of equal wages remains the same. Even though the constitution states that primary education is compulsory and free, a large part of the parents' expenses are for education and the voice for the implementation of the constitutional provisions is still being raised. Some parties and leaders are also carrying the issue of 'Right to Recall'.

After 2048, only a limited number of political parties have been in power. The elections of 2048, 2051 and 2056 were held with similar sentiments. The dreams of the manifestos were also almost the same. In 2048, the Congress and the UML shared the dream of an East-West electric railway. Despite minor obstacles, the legacy of the power of the main parties at that time continues. But the agendas they put forward have still not been fulfilled. Even now, the dreams of an electric railway have not stopped being distributed.

With the 2064 Constituent Assembly elections, new parties were added. This trend continued in the 2070, 2074, 2079 and 2082 elections. The dream of railways has been an integral part of the party manifesto and the speeches of the leaders. But why has this agenda not been fulfilled so far? When the parties keep repeating this agenda without answering it, it is insulting the people.

The issues put forward are not implemented without serious brainstorming, without being clear about the possibility of implementation, and without being sensitive to the main issues that the country should prioritize, which only reveals the imagination of the parties and candidates concerned. It is also seen that the parties have started using words like commitment letter, resolution, and pledge letter instead of using the word 'manifesto'. However, the basic weakness of presenting agendas beyond the ground reality has not been resolved.

There is no continuous effort to implement their agenda. There is no firmness in the subject matter. There is no ownership. There is no self-confidence. There is no self-criticism, accountability, or apology to the people for not being able to fulfill the agenda they put forward even when they are leading the government. If you are only interested in dreaming of a dream every election, the manifesto will not have any weight. It cannot even make the people excited. Issuing a manifesto becomes a meaningless undertaking like ‘hanging a bell around a cat’s neck’.

Now it is time for the parties to review the style of manifesto writing. Only implementable topics should be included in the manifesto. A manifesto should be brought that harmonizes the unstable government, weak institutional capacity, people’s priorities, the country’s goals, and the pace of the world. It is a reality that it is difficult for the people to get basic services from the government. Constitutional rights have not been implemented. The economy has not been able to move.