S.D. Muni is Professor Emeritus at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He is also the former ambassador and special envoy, Govt. of India.
Nepali people have given a resounding electoral victory to the newly emerged youthful national leader Balendra Shah (popularly known as Balen) and his newly adopted four-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) led by Ravi Lamichhane. They have inflicted a humiliating defeat on the well-established and long ruling political establishment comprising The Nepali Congress (NC), The Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist-UML), The Nepal Communist Party, the royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party and all the Madhes- based political parties.
This is the result of the RSP’s organisational strategy and Balen’s charisma and campaigning style. Balen avoided media projections and long speeches, and relied upon his rap singing style with sharp cryptic messages in person as well as through social media. People voted for him and the RSP symbol of bell (‘Ghanti’), almost blindly and emotionally, irrespective of the ethnicity, standings, qualifications and character of the local candidates. Balen craze covered almost the whole of the country, except for small parts of the northwest and northeast Nepal.
The elections were the result of Gen. Z uprising against a corrupt and morbid coalition regime of the NC and the UML led by K.P. Sharma Oli, in September 2025. The uprising was mobilised by Balen and young leaders. What was proposed as a peaceful, orderly protest culminated in the state violence against the youthful activists and huge destruction of state institutions as well as private properties by anti-social elements and entrenched, rival political stakeholders.
The credit for holding free, fair, peaceful and fully participatory elections within the parameters of the 2015 Constitution, must go to the Interim Government led by Mrs. Shushila Karki, whose legitimacy under the same Constitution had been questioned.
Holding free and fair elections and bringing the culprits of the upheaval to book were her main agenda and she delivered on both most graciously. The election results represent a generational change in Nepali politics. It is a change for corruption-free good governance, inclusive and vibrant democracy and robust economic development.
Nepal has a history of popular uprisings against autocratic mal-governance since 1951. These popular uprisings have overthrown Ranacracy, Monarchy, Panchayat System and now, corrupt and power-hungry democratic leadership. In throwing these systems into the dustbin of history, Nepali people have not hesitated in accepting absolutely new, inexperienced political forces. The present election results take our memories back to 2008 when Nepalis gave a clear mandate to the Maoists against established parties in the hope that they will usher in their long promised “New Nepal”.
The Maoists utterly failed and disappointed the people of Nepal and became epitomes of corruption, authoritarianism and mal-governance. No wonder, they suffered defeats and erosion in their support base in one after another elections. Remembering their conduct and fate is a must for the emerging new power structure of Nepal. The mandate given to Balen and his RSP is extraordinarily impressive, and will bring a heavy burden of responsibility to them. They have promised to show positive results on their campaigning pledges within one hundred days. They have formidable challenges to face.
Both the RSP President Ravi Lamichhane and Balen are strong and ambitious personalities. Their mutual cooperation and coordination will be the most critical factor in crafting a cabinet for delivering good and clean governance. It may be easy to punish the culprits of September 2025 violence and destruction, but carrying out promised relevant constitutional changes to remove and block aberrations in the inclusive, federal, dynamic and performing Republic may not be easy.
The new rulers have an unchallenged majority in the Lower House of parliament (Pratinidhi Sabha), but have no presence in the Upper House (Rastriya Sabha), which must also endorse stipulated laws and Constitutional amendments. They have to work with the administrative, judicial and security systems that have been nursed and consolidated by the outgoing regime.
Economically, Nepal has been making slow but steady progress though without equity. Nepal has considerable hydro-power and tourism potential to be creatively harnessed. The new government can also infuse new skills and technology to open more economic opportunities. Not only the growth trajectory of Nepali economy will have to be enhanced but employment opportunities will have to be opened up for Nepal’s burgeoning nearly 45% of the demographic surge. This youthful population is fully aware, self-confident, aspirant and impatient. Nepal’s development has also taken place in a very lopsided manner. The Madhes and hills are still struggling for basic necessities of life as against the cosmopolitan Kathmandu Valley.
No less important for the new government is the challenge of carrying out a balanced foreign policy specially between its two giant neighbours, India and China, because both the RSP and Balen are perceived to be western-oriented in Beijing and New Delhi. While India has strong multidimensional engagement with Nepal and Prime Minister Modi has been quick in assuring Nepal’s new leadership of India’s continued support, China also has strong stakes in digging its economic and strategic presence in Nepal.
There is also an urgent and strong need in New Delhi to revisit the drawing board of its Nepal, and the whole neighbourhood policy to shift its undue dependence from the Intelligence agencies and religious/cultural agents to cope with generational changes. Indian policy makers must learn to deal with aspirations and sensitivities of a youthful, assertively nationalist, and self-confident leadership in Nepal.
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