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Balen Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is heading toward a landslide victory in Nepal’s first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests. The party has secured victory in 61 seats and is leading in 58 constituencies across Nepal according to the recent data. RSP senior leader Balendra Shah, the party’s prime ministerial candidate, is far ahead in Jhapa-5, leaving former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
In Kathmandu-1, RSP candidate Ranju Neupane, known as Darshana, has already won outright with 15,455 votes, comfortably beating Nepali Congress’s Prabal Thapa, who got 6,364. In Chitwan-2, RSP chief Rabi Lamichhane won with the landslide victory leaving behind rivals from both the Congress and the UML. Even in Sarlahi-4, Amresh Singh of the RSP is outpacing Gagan Thapa, the Nepali Congress president.
Nepali voters aren’t just switching parties. They are rejecting a political system that has spent years recycling the same leaders, the same coalitions, and the same excuses. Nepal’s old political heavyweights are struggling not just for votes, but also for legitimacy.
Nepal has struggled with political instability for decades. Since 2008, Nepal has seen 14 different governments, not one of which has completed a full five-year term. Majority of young people are grappling with high unemployment. Youth unemployment is around 20%, forcing thousands of youths to toil abroad as migrants, their earnings amounting a third of Nepal’s GDP. Youth migration, unemployment, and fragile service delivery have hollowed out faith in traditional parties.
The people around the country are still frustrated by rampant corruption and economic gloom. Corruption has permeated every level of the nation. According to Transparency International, Nepal is one of the most corrupt countries in Asia.
Balen Shah, a rapper turned Kathmandu Mayor emerged as a trusted leader during Nepal’s Gen Z protests that plunged Nepal into a whirlwind of violence that left 77 people dead and many injured. Youth protesters ask him to lead the country after the former Prime Minister stepped down following the protests. Rabi Lamichhane, the 51-year-old chairperson of the Rastriya Swatantra party (RSP), and the 35-year-old Balendra Shah formed an alliance ahead of the election. Both leaders pledged to address the demands of the younger generation following September’s protests.
The real test for the RSP will be turning these early cheers into lasting change. The party’s appeal has always rested on practicality over ideology. As mayor, Balen Shah successfully destroyed commercial and residential buildings that were built without proper permits. He widened the pavements of Kathmandu’s major cities, which is an important step for the general public’s convenience. Balen’s administration managed garbage collection efficiently and it implemented several measures to improve cleanliness, including daily road cleaning and maintenance. Rabi Lamichhane has built his following on the same straightforward pitch—cut the nonsense, deliver services, hold officials responsible.
If the RSP ends up forming or leading the next government, they should prioritise the basic demands of people. They should push infrastructure that actually connects villages to markets. They should make anti-corruption rules stick, not just appear in speeches. Their government should Invest seriously in education and skills so young Nepalis don’t have to board planes to find dignity. They also need to keep foreign policy pragmatic—good relations with both neighbours without letting any one dominate.
None of this will be easy. Governing Nepal has always been harder than campaigning. Some of its candidates are untested at the national level.
Still, Nepalis have looked at the old way of doing things and chosen a different path. They have rung the bell for leaders hoping for change. Whether the RSP can turn this moment into real progress remains to be seen. But the fact that Nepali voters are willing to bet on fresh faces is itself encouraging.
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