WhenBalendra Shah, known to virtually everyone in Nepal simply as Balen, beatfour-time prime minister KP Sharma Oliby around 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency, it wasn't merely a personal victory. It was indicative of the fact that something fundamental had shifted in Nepalese politics.
Oli, the veteran leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), took the loss with grace. "I wish Balen Babu a successful five-year tenure without any hurdle," he wrote on social media afterward.
By Saturday, the Rastriya Swatantra Party had won 97 of the 124 seats, as per data shared by Kathmandu Post. Vote counting, which began late Thursday night, was still ongoing in the remaining constituencies out of the total 165 being contested under the direct first-past-the-post system.
Balen meets supporters during an election campaign rally in Jhapa, Nepal, on February 23, 2026.
The RSP, founded by former deputy prime minister Rabi Lamichhane, became the vehicle for a generation of Nepalese voters who had simply run out of patience with the parties that had governed the country since it became a republic in 2008.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, widely praised for her integrity, took over and promised elections within six months. She delivered. On March 5th, 2026, Nepal went to the polls.
One third of all seats are reserved for women. Sixty-seven parties participated in total, though the election essentially came down to two sides, the old guard and the new challengers.
On the other side was the RSP, which barely existed before the Gen Z protests but channelled the anger from those streets into votes at a scale that has now fundamentally reorganised Nepalese politics.
Whether the RSP, despite its sweeping mandate, can deliver that stability is the question the next five years will answer.
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