Submit your Article

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) senior leader Balendra Shah has been elected the House of Representatives (HoR) from Jhapa-5.

Shah won the poll by defeating former prime minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli by a wide margin. 

According to the Office of the Returning Officer, Balendra Shah secured 68,348 votes, while Oli managed 18,734 votes.

In the vote counts completed this evening, Samir Tamang of Shram Sanskriti Party got 9,233 votes, while Mandhara Chimariya of Nepali Congress secured 1,821 votes and Laxmi Prasad Sangraula of Rastriya Prajatantra Party got 1,536 votes. 

Of the total 163,379 voters, 106,568 voters cast their votes in the election on March 5.

The election for the 275-member House of Representatives (HoR) was conducted peacefully across the country, despite a few minor incidents of violence reported in some constituencies. Voters from across generations—from GenZ youth to citizens over 100 years old—turned out to cast their ballots.

The election marks an important effort to revive Nepal’s constitutional framework after it was destabilized by a protest-driven political crisis. As voting concludes, public attention is now shifting toward the reform measures the new government will undertake. People remain concerned about how the incoming leadership will address political challenges, overcome structural constraints, and stabilize the country’s fragile economic situation.

Voters expect the new government to focus on improving the overall quality of life by ensuring good governance and maintaining strong control over corruption. People want the government to create more jobs and expand economic opportunities so that citizens can achieve financial stability and growth.

Farmers expect the timely availability of chemical fertilizers to support agricultural productivity, while students and families hope for quality and affordable education. At the same time, citizens want accessible and affordable healthcare services, a clean and reliable supply of tap water, and dependable public transportation systems.

Proper monitoring and regulation of markets to control prices is also a major expectation, as it would help protect consumers from inflation and unfair practices. Overall, voters hope the new government will work responsibly to build a fair, transparent, and prosperous society for everyone.

The new government—whether led by old or new political actors—will be obliged to take measures to bring about meaningful change. However, this election is unlikely to produce a single-party majority government due to the current electoral system, which combines First-Past-the-Post and Proportional Representation. Nepal first implemented this system in the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections, and since then no party has secured a single-party majority to form the government. National elections were subsequently held in 2013, 2017, and 2022, but none produced a single-party government. Thursday’s election is also expected to result in a coalition government involving more than two political parties. To initiate the reform process, the first precondition is the stability of both parliament and government.

Untimely dissolution of parliament and frequent changes in government have hindered the prospects for meaningful change. Only a stable government can create a conducive environment for constitutional amendments. Since a two-thirds majority is required to amend the constitution, such changes cannot take place without broad political consensus. While consensus may be possible among major political parties on non-political issues, it is far more difficult to reach agreement on core political matters.

Moreover, amending the constitution can open a Pandora’s box. Once the process begins, multiple groups may push their own agendas. For instance, royalist groups demand the restoration of the Hindu state and monarchy, while other groups have their own competing demands. In addition, improving governance will require amendments to dozens of existing laws, which is also a complex and time-consuming task.

Good governance and institutional reforms are essential to boost private investment, foster inclusive and sustainable growth, create jobs, and increase productivity. There is also a need to attract more foreign direct investment to bridge the funding gap for infrastructure development and other sectors. However, foreign companies often complain about bureaucratic red tape and regulatory hurdles when investing in Nepal. At the same time, the economic policies of the new government will be closely watched by the international community.

The new government faces the formidable task of undertaking comprehensive reforms across political, economic, and state institutions. Achieving these reforms will require a stable and conducive political environment within Nepal’s fragmented political landscape.

As vote counting for the March 5 election continues across the country, there are clear indications that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by Rabi Lamichhane and politically nurtured by former Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah, is heading toward a single-party majority.

Vote counting is underway in more than 60 constituencies, and RSP candidates are leading by large margins over candidates from the Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, and other parties in 50 seats. In Jhapa-5, Balendra Shah is leading over KP Sharma Oli by more than three thousand votes. Among other top leaders, Nepal Communist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is leading in Rukum-West, a Maoist heartland.

The RSP, which emerged as the fourth-largest party in the 2022 national elections, gained significant popularity after naming Balendra Shah as its senior leader and prime ministerial candidate. When Shah traveled across the country during the campaign, thousands of young people turned out to welcome him.

In recent weeks, local media reports had already suggested that the RSP was likely to perform strongly, posing a serious challenge to the Nepali Congress and other traditional political parties. A large section of the public had grown increasingly frustrated with established parties due to corruption, governance failures, lack of job creation, and their inability to address the everyday concerns of ordinary citizens.

At the same time, many grassroots members of major parties were dissatisfied, believing that a small group of leaders had captured party structures from the top down. The Gen Z protests of September 8–9, during which 76 people—including 19 students—were killed, further damaged the credibility of traditional political forces.

Even after the Gen Z movement, most major parties failed to reform their leadership, with the partial exception of the Nepali Congress. However, despite changing its leadership, the NC also struggled to regain the attention and trust of voters.

Ordinary citizens are now expecting improved governance, stronger action against corruption, job creation, and better public service delivery. The prevailing sentiment among many voters is clear: traditional political parties were given opportunities for more than four decades, yet failed to deliver meaningful change. As a result, many people now prefer to give newer political forces a chance.

Ranju Darshana of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has won the House of Representatives election from Kathmandu Constituency-1 by receiving 15,455 votes. 

Chief Election Officer Churaman Khadka said that 30-year-old Darshana was elected, surpassing her closest competitor Nepali Congress's candidate Prabal Thapa Chhetri by a margin of 9,091 votes. 

Thapa Chhetri of the Congress received 6,364 votes. In this constituency, out of 29,774 votes cast, 29,082 were valid and 692 votes were invalid.

Darshana's political background: 

Darshana, who has been actively involved in politics by leading an alternative political stream, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party from the Bibekshil Sajha Party prior to the election.

Previously in the election of 2074 BS, Darshana, who was 21 years at that time, was one of the contenders for the mayoral post of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. She also served as the former General-Secretary of the Bibekshil Sajha Party. 

She holds a Master's degree in political science and counseling psychology. 

A strong advocate of violence against women, Darshana has gained experience as a teacher at Thames College and as a guest lecturer at Nicholson International College as well, specializing in social education.

She is recognized as a social activist and is a staunch advocate for the right to information, freedom of expression and defender of civil rights.