Kathmandu, March 8 The Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by young rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah 'Balen', secured a stunning victory in the general elections, winning over two-thirds of the seats, effectively ousting the established parties in Nepal.
According to the Election Commission (EC), the RSP won 122 out of the 165 directly elected seats in the House of Representatives elections.
The EC announced the results for 159 of the 165 seats by 8:30 pm.
The EC stated that the counting of votes for the remaining six seats will be completed by Monday afternoon for the directly elected seats.
On Saturday, Balen, a 35-year-old RSP candidate, defeated four-time Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, the chair of the CPN-UML, by a significant margin of around 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency.
Balen is expected to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal, reflecting a public desire for change. He will be the first Madhesi Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation and the youngest to hold the top position in the country's parliamentary history.
The Nepali Congress (NC) secured the second position, winning 17 seats, while the CPN-UML, led by ousted Prime Minister Oli, won only eight seats and is leading in two constituencies.
The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won seven seats, the Shram Sanskriti Party won three, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) won one seat, according to the EC.
One independent candidate, Mahabir Pun, who had resigned as the education minister in the interim government, won in Myagdi-1, defeating his rivals from the CPN-UML and the NC. The RSP did not field a candidate against him.
The RSP, led by Ravi Lamichhane, secured a clean sweep of all 15 constituencies in the Kathmandu Valley.
Lamichhane, RSP chairman, won with a significant margin in the Chitwan-2 constituency, securing 54,402 votes against Mina Kumari Kharel of the NC, who received only 14,564 votes.
Indira Rana Magar, a former deputy speaker of the dissolved House of Representatives and RSP leader, won in Jhapa-2, defeating Dev Raj Ghimire, a senior leader of the CPN-UML.
Gagan Thapa, 49, the Nepali Congress candidate, lost to Amaresh Singh of the RSP in the Dhanusha-4 constituency.
Other senior leaders of the Nepali Congress, including Guru Raj Ghimire, Shekhar Koirala, and Bimalendra Nidhi, also faced defeat.
Harka Rai, chairman of the Shram Sanskriti Party, won in Sunsari-1, defeating Goma Tamang of the RSP.
Gyanendra Shahi of the RPP defeated Naresh Bhandari of the NCP in the Jumla constituency of Karnali province, becoming the sole winning candidate for the pro-monarchist party.
Former Prime Minister and NCP leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' won from Rukum Purba district, defeating Lilamani Gautam of the CPN-UML.
However, two other former Prime Ministers lost in their respective strongholds amid the RSP's strong showing.
"Prachanda changed his constituency several times, seeking a safer one, and this time he contested the election from the remote Rukum East, a stronghold of the erstwhile Maoist party," said Sunil Babu Pant, a former Parliament member.
The former Maoist guerrilla commander also dissolved the CPN-Maoist Centre and renamed it the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) after merging dozens of fringe parties.
The RSP's victory, which saw Balen defeat Oli in what was a David versus Goliath battle, was undoubtedly the biggest upset for the established parties.
Another former Prime Minister, Madhav Nepal, 73, co-coordinator of the NCP, lost in Rautahat-1 to RSP's Rajesh Kumar Chaudhari.
However, the RSP's success extended beyond just the heavyweights. The party dismantled many strongholds and key areas of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML.
Ten office bearers of the CPN-UML, including the party's general secretary Shankar Pokharel, three vice presidents, one deputy general secretary, and four secretaries, lost the election, while more than half a dozen NC strongmen also lost.
Gen Z, through its intensified protests in September last year, ousted Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the support of the Nepali Congress.
The major issues raised by Gen Z before and during the campaign, including anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, and generational change in political leadership, became central to the election.
"Legacy parties failed to convince voters of these key issues, including fighting corruption and nepotism, and generational change in political leadership," said Saraswatee Karmacharya, a journalist at Nepal Samacharpatra.
"And along with the parties, they also sank the political futures of the respective old leaders who had been engaging in musical chair politics over the last two decades. No wonder, they were rejected," she added.
The election also saw 14 women candidates emerge victorious, with as many as 13 from the RSP. One is from the NC.
The election was closely watched by India, which is hoping for a stable government in the politically-fragile Himalayan country to further the developmental partnership between the two sides.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people and government of Nepal on the successful conduct of the election.
"It is heartening to see my Nepali sisters and brothers exercise their democratic rights so vibrantly. This historic milestone is a proud moment in Nepal's democratic journey," Modi said in a post on X.
Nepal witnessed about 60 per cent voter turnout during the March 5 election to the House of Representatives.
Of the 275 members of Parliament, 165 are being elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 are through a proportionate method.
Around 3,400 candidates were vying for 165 seats under direct voting and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The RSP is also leading in proportional voting with 28,53,096 votes, followed by the Nepali Congress with 9,58,125 votes.
The CPN-UML has received 8,28,428 votes, the Nepali Communist Party 3,99,524, the RPP 2,05,363, and Shram Sanskriti Party 1,55,524 votes, according to the EC.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission said that all the counting under direct voting will conclude by Monday afternoon while proportionate vote counting will conclude by Wednesday morning.
"Seat allotment and certificate distribution to the candidates under proportionate voting will be completed by March 19," the EC said.
