Promise of economic prosperity is a refrain repeated by the candidates in their campaign rallies in Bajura these days. The local elections are taking place after a gap of 20 long years and gone are the days when the politicians pledged supply of rice and salt to attract voters in the district.

A lot has changed in the last two decades. The voters today are more informed, their needs have changed over the years, and so have the electoral agenda of the parties. Instead of rice and salt, the voters want economic growth and infrastructure development in their villages. And the candidates are touting just that.

Shristika Regmi, the CPN-UML deputy mayor candidate for Budinanda Municipality, says her main priority if she gets elected will be bringing economic prosperity in the constituency. She insists it is not just an electoral bait to garner votes.

“Development and economic prosperity have been long overdue and I will work towards making them a reality,” says the 24-year-old deputy mayor candidate.

Padam Bahadur Shahi is no stranger when it comes to local elections; he is a former elected official of Bajura District Development Committee (DDC). But he says he has noticed a stark difference in the campaign agenda, the candidates and the voters’ enthusiasm this time.

“We have a whole new generation who are voting and competing in the election this time. The agenda has certainly changed and we have a batch of young, enthusiastic candidates, who believe in making their places self-reliant and developed. It is unlike the time when I was elected in the election of 2049 BS,” says Shahi.

The concepts of democracy, human rights and gender equality were largely unknown in Bajura 20 years ago. It was the time when the daily lives of the people in the district revolved around making their ends meet. Rice and salt were highly-prized essentials then. So when the election seasons arrived, the candidates promised improving access to rice and salt to the voters. But things are different these days, even in the most remote part of Bajura, the people are politically aware. Rice-and-salt politics is not going to impress them.

Lal Bahadur Thapa, the former DDC chairman, says local economic growth and self-reliance, education and health care have outweighed the people’s need for rice and salt by a distance over the years.

“The voters have become more assertive nowadays. They know what they want, so it is only natural for the candidates to tailor their campaign to suit the voters’ needs. How the elected officials will go about fulfilling the election promises is a different story,” says Thapa.