Kathmandu: With just two weeks left before Nepal’s House of Representatives elections, political parties and individual candidates are ramping up spending on sponsored Facebook posts, channelling thousands of dollars into online campaigning.
The surge in digital advertising has grown noticeably in recent weeks, as contenders intensify efforts to shape public opinion and promote both personal brands and party agendas ahead of the March 5 vote.
Among individual candidates, Nain Singh Mahar of the Nepali Congress, contesting from Dadeldhura, stands out as one of the biggest spenders. According to data from Facebook’s Ad Library, Mahar spent US$ 1,199 over the past two weeks alone to promote 46 pieces of content, an amount equivalent to nearly Rs 200,000.
Over the past month, however, the highest overall spender has been “My Voice Counts,” a campaign that has invested US$ 2,235 in 74 separate ads. The campaign, which promotes the My Voice Count app, has used AI-generated videos targeting young voters and has even run advertisements encouraging election boycotts.
Among political parties, the Gatisheel Loktantrik Party (Dynamic Democratic Party) has emerged as the top advertiser in the past month, spending US$ 741 on seven ads. Over the last three months, the party has invested a total of US$ 1,551 across 38 ads. The party is associated with aviation entrepreneur Birendra Bahadur Basnet, owner of Buddha Air, and is widely identified with him. Despite fielding only 11 proportional representation candidates nationwide and just two direct candidates, one in Kathmandu and one outside the capital, the party has maintained a strong presence through sponsored Facebook promotions. Actor Nisha Adhikari is contesting from Kathmandu-5 under its banner.
Another newcomer, the Ujyalo Nepal Party led by Kulman Ghising, has spent US$ 1,270 on Facebook ads over the past three months, seeking broader public visibility as it builds its profile.
Other political actors and campaign groups also investing in Facebook promotions include the Bharat Raj Victory Campaign, Dr. Ajay Kranti Shakya, the Rastriya Priwartan Party Okhaldhunga, Birendra Bahadur Basnet, Shree Gurung, the Raman Karn Victory Campaign (Mahottari-2), the Sajha Party, Sunil Kumar Sharma, Nisha Adhikari, Rajan Bhattarai, and Kaushal Gurung (Kaski-2).
Comment Here