Kathmandu, March 8 The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by young musician-turned-politician Balendra Shah 'Balen', is set for a resounding victory in the general elections, marking a significant defeat for established parties.
Formed in 2022, the RSP has won 120 of the 165 directly elected seats, with a strong lead in another six constituencies in the House of Representatives elections, according to the Election Commission (EC).
The EC has announced the results for 156 of the 165 seats, with the remaining results expected to be announced late Sunday night or by Monday morning.
Counting of votes began shortly after the conclusion of voting on Thursday, and the initial results began to be announced on Saturday, with a major outcome being Balen, the 35-year-old RSP candidate, defeating four-time Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, chair of the CPN-UML, by a significant margin of approximately 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency.
Balen is expected to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal, reflecting the public's desire for a change in leadership. 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) is in second place, winning 17 seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) – CPN-(UML) – led by ousted Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has won only seven seats and is leading in three.
The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has won seven seats, the Shram Sanskriti Party has won three, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has won one seat, according to the EC data. Among the winners, there is one independent candidate.
Independent candidate Mahabir Pun, who had resigned as the education minister in the interim government, won in Myagdi-1 constituency, defeating his closest rivals from the CPN-(UML) and the NC. Notably, the RSP did not field a candidate against him.
The RSP, led by Ravi Lamichhane, has secured a clean sweep in all 15 constituencies of three districts in the Kathmandu Valley, according to the EC data.
The established parties failed to convince voters who were primarily concerned about issues such as corruption and nepotism, as well as a generational change in political leadership.
Former Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar, of the RSP, won from Jhapa-2 by defeating Speaker of the dissolved House of Representatives and senior leader of CPN-UML Dev Raj Ghimire.
Rana Magar won by a margin of 48,742 votes against Ghimire, who secured 11,368 votes.
Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa, 49, who was projected as his party's prime ministerial candidate, lost from Dhanusha-4 constituency to Amaresh Singh of the RSP.
Singh received 33,688 votes against Thapa's 22,831, according to the Election Commission.
Other senior leaders of the Nepali Congress, including general secretary Guru Raj Ghimire, Shekhar Koirala, and Bimalendra Nidhi, also faced defeat.
Ten office bearers of the CPN-UML, including the party's general secretary Shankar Pokharel, also lost the election.
Other leaders of the CPN-UML who lost were vice presidents Bishnu Paudel, Prithvi Subba Gurung, and Gokarna Bista, deputy general secretary Raghubir Mahaseth, and secretaries Sherdhan Rai, Mahesh Basnet, Rajan Bhattarai, and Bhanubhakta Dhakal.
Harka Rai, chairman of the Shram Sanskriti Party, won from Sunsari-1, defeating RSP candidate Goma Tamang.
RSP chairman Lamichhane won with a significant margin from the Chitwan-2 constituency, securing his third consecutive victory with 54,402 votes against his nearest rival, NC's Mina Kumari Kharel, who received 14,564 votes.
According to the EC, former Prime Minister and NCP leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' won from Rukum Purba district by securing 10,240 votes against his rival, Lilamani Gautam of the CPN-UML, who got 3,462 votes.
RPP's Gyanendra Shahi won from the Jumla constituency of Karnali province by defeating his closest rival, Naresh Bhandari of the NCP, and became the only candidate of the pro-monarchist party to secure a seat in the House of Representatives.
The election also saw 10 female candidates win, nine from the RSP and one from the NC.
The election was closely watched by India, which is hoping for a stable government in the politically-fragile Himalayan country to facilitate developmental partnership between the two sides.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the people and government of Nepal for 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 being elected 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 24,55,764 votes, followed by the Nepali Congress with 8,31,224 votes.
The CPN-UML has received 7,09,575 votes, the Nepali Communist Party 3,36,933, the RPP 1,78,975, and Shram Sanskriti Party 1,21,066 votes, according to the EC. Gen Z, through its two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9 last year, ousted Prime Minister Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the backing of the Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
The major issues raised by Gen Z before and during the election campaign were anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, a generational change in the political leadership, etc.
