Rastriya Swatantra Party heading towards landslide victory, Balendra Shah likely to Nepal's next PM

Kathmandu: Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on Friday heading towards a sweeping victory in Nepal's first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests, shattering the dominance of established political parties in the politically fragile nation.

According to the Election Commission's data available from 161 of the total 165 constituencies, the RSP has won four seats and is ahead in 110 others, local media reported.

Balendra Shah, who was the Mayor of Kathmandu till recently, is leading by more than 10,000 votes in Jhapa-5 constituency against four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair K P Sharma Oli in the latter's stronghold.

Popularly known as 'Balen', the 35-year-old engineer is expected to be the next prime minister of Nepal, reflecting a public mood of rejection of established parties. Nepal has had 14 governments in the last 18 years.

The election was closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to take forward the developmental partnership between the two sides.

"We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to further build on the robust multifaceted ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in Delhi on Thursday.

He said India has "consistently supported peace, progress and stability in Nepal and in keeping with our commitment, provided logistical supplies as per request from Government of Nepal for these elections".

The Nepali Congress has won two seats and is leading in 13 others, while the CPN-UML is leading in 11 constituencies. The Nepali Communist Party has won one and is leading in seven constituencies. The Shram Sanskriti Party is leading in six constituencies.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Progressive Democratic Party were each leading in one constituency.

Out of a total of 275 members of the Parliament, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportionate method.

Balen was a popular choice to lead the interim government after Gen Z youths toppled the Oli-led coalition government in September last year, following two days of nationwide violent protests against corruption and a ban on social media.

But Balen declined to lead the interim administration, saying he would rather head the government by contesting the parliamentary election for a full term.

In January, he joined the RSP, which was formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, and was soon declared the party's prime ministerial candidate. The RSP received significant support during the campaign.

Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa was the prime ministerial candidate of his party, whereas the CPN (UML) projected Oli as its PM face. Both Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were part of the government toppled by the Gen Z last year.

According to the Election Commission, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda won from Rukum Purba district. He secured 10,240 votes against his rival Lilamani Gautam of CPN (UML), who got 3,462 votes.

Ranju Darshana of the RSP won from Kathmandu-1 with 15,455 votes, while Yogesh Gauchan Thakali of the NC won from Mustang with 3,307 votes. Biraj Bhakta Shrestha of RSP was elected from Kathmandu constituency-8, while his party colleague Shishir Khanal won from Kathmandu constituency-6.

Nepal witnessed about 60 per cent voter turnout during the elections to the House of Representatives on Thursday. The counting of votes started late Thursday night and is expected to be completed by Friday night, according to the Election Commission.

Nepal's 18.9 million voters were eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives. Around 3,400 candidates are vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.

The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9, ousted Prime Minister Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.

After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.

The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.