Submit your Article

Too many stars light up the Himalayan sky. The temptation to compare PM Balen Shah and Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane with the pole star is great. But maybe it is early yet, though they are two sides of the same coin.

 The Balen "craze" that created the Ballot-box Revolution in March this year has transformed into "aura-farming," despite disruption of parliamentary norms and traditions, though his Gen Z followers consider them as mere "deviations."

Balen has become bigger than his name, but he is his own man—but who knows, Rabi is the boss. Breaking his prolonged silence in parliament last Sunday (31 May), Balen stunned lawmakers by answering questions from them without a stitch of a note, stumbling only on the question of border dispute with India with the shocking revelation that "Nepal too has occupied Indian lands." He had stirred the hornet’s nest. Later, the Foreign Ministry jumped in for damage limitation, saying "it was in no-man’s land where rivers keep changing course." India’s Foreign Ministry chimed in, protesting Shah’s inclusion of UK in the dispute, saying it was bilateral issue.

In his first 100 days, Balen had pledged 100 goals—most are populist—with the 74th completed last week. An ambitious budget has elevated salaries of government employees and provided tax concessions. After only the 1960 and 1991 elections, the non-ideological Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) rules two seats short of a two-thirds majority, though it has no representation in the Upper House and the seven provinces. Further, the first year of Balen government is dedicated to "Good Governance, Accountability and Development"—Development-Diplomacy in short hand—precisely what the people have been demanding for the last three decades.

The urban and political elite and political opposition are not pleased with his style: not meeting people nor speaking to the media; changing through ordinance, composition and powers of constitutional councils; supersession of acting Chief Justice Sapna Pradhan Malla and other measures to depoliticize institutions, though the Supreme Court intervened to block the dissolution of trade unions and student organizations in universities. Balen has regulated diplomatic protocol smothered by the likes of former Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi, who used to invade Sheetal Niwas (President’s residence) and Baluwatar (PM’s residence). Lest we forget, behind the scenes is a third leader: the learned and articulate Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle.

In an interview to a newspaper, Balen’s political confidant, Bhupdev Shah, General Secretary of RSP, had said that PM Balen Shah would not undertake any visits to foreign countries in his first year, thereby preempting Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Kathmandu scheduled for 11–12 May, when he was carrying an invitation from PM Narendra Modi for PM Balen Shah to visit India. Speculation was rife that Balen would not meet Misri, like he declined to meet President Trump’s Special Envoy to South and Central Asia and Ambassador to India, the Almighty Sergio Gor. Apparently, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu verified the contents of the Bhupendra Shah interview before closing the issue.

Earlier, it was being said that Balen might attend United Nations General Assembly, New York, in September, and a visit to Delhi could be planned before or after that. Grapevine also suggested that India would be his first foreign port of call. Ending uncertainty, the Modi government discovered the perfect alternative to PM Shah: Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane. It was godsent!

Here are reasons why Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suddenly invited Rabi even as the Misri episode had not died down. Delhi did not want Beijing to spring a surprise. For the first time, the party chair of the establishment in Kathmandu visited Delhi before its Prime Minister—the traditional norm. It was also the first time PM Modi went to his Party office to meet a foreign dignitary, Lamichhane. This has set a precedent; Indian political parties, mainly the Congress, have dealt with Nepali Congress or the Communists.

While RSP under Rabi made its political debut in 2021 with just 21 seats in Parliament, four years later, it rocketed to 182 seats, spurred by GenZ and Nepalese plagued with misgovernance: corruption. The arrival and rise of the non-baggage-carrying and non-ideological RSP is an accident of history, much to the relief of aspirational Nepal. It is this leadership that the BJP-led government is courting. One other crucial factor that prompted the invitation to Rabi is that, once he is cleared of court cases, he is the natural successor to Balen, who realizes that majority of the parliamentary party is with Rabi.

Much before Balen hit the spotlight as rapper and outspoken Mayor of Kathmandu, Rabi was a household name running the popular TV show, Sidha Kura Janta Sang. He raised RSP and became Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. In short, for now, Balen is the lead engine and Rabi the double engine on the uphill track. The ownership of the mandate is Balen’s; keeping party unity and cohesion are with Rabi.

That’s how India’s Neighborhood First policy selected Rabi as the BJP’s First Leader from Nepal, and much was made of him in the two days he was in Delhi with band-baaja, et al., and meetings with Modi, Amit Shah, Ajit Doval, S. Jaishankar, and notably, Vikram Misri. Rabi’s arrival was synchronized with his signed Hindustan Times article that encapsulated aspirational Nepal’s wish-list, playing up Modi’s benchmark Nepal visit in 2014 and listing Kathmandu’s history of grievances. Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattari and journalist Binod Dhakal responded differently to the article—Bhattarai noting India’s fixation with security of Himalayan frontiers and Dhakal emphasizing institutionalizing high-level diplomacy rather than relying on personal chemistry.

Modi’s statement on X was short and sharp, focused on elevating India’s "special and multifaceted relations to greater heights." Now the post-election diplomatic vacuum has been bridged. Party-to-party contact is done; G-to-G started with Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal arriving after Rabi left. And Rabi is one-up on Balen!

In 2014, Modi praised, in Nepal’s Parliament, its soldiers who spilled blood in India’s wars. Before his India’s visit, Rabi had met Indian Army Nepali veterans who urged him to help restore Gorkha recruitment—a strategic bonding stopped under the Agniveer scheme by previous governments. Interestingly, RSS was kept out of conversations given that its mouthpiece, Organiser, was skeptical about GenZ and critical of alleged US support for RSP. The Royalist Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, demolished during the electoral avalanche, has split yet again. Former King Gyanendra has prophetically noted that monarchy is the last option if even the 182-seat government fails.

Notwithstanding stable governments and popular leaders in asymmetric Nepal and India, history has proven relationships are never constant but subject to snakes and ladders. Development diplomacy will likely clash with security and sovereignty concerns.

(Ashok K Mehta is a General officer [Retd] from Indian Army Gorkha Regiment who has known Nepal since 1959.)

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who returned home on Friday evening after concluding his five-day official visit to India, said forwarding prosperity was his key agenda during the visit. 

Talking to media at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) upon his arrival, Lamichhane said discussions with the Indian side focused on bilateral cooperation in various sectors, ranging from sports to information technology (IT). 

"During the visit, it was made clear what kind of support and engagement the RSP-led government seeks from India. We dwelt on the government's priorities from connectivity to religious tourism as well as the expected benefits of Nepal-India relations," the President explained, adding that making the Nepali Embassy and Nepali mechanism more responsive and efficient also featured while addressing the concerns of Nepali citizens in India.  

Nepal-India border dispute will be addressed diplomatically, leader Lamichhane said, underscoring, "Diplomatic efforts matter and these are significant in dealing with border issues. Such dealings should be handled in a gradual way and the efforts towards that end have been progressing accordingly."

According to him, during the visit, invitations to visit Nepal were extended to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he held separate bilateral talks. He said the responses from both leaders were positive.  

The RSP President further informed Nepal's Prime Minister's visit to India would be determined based on the time and context. "The Prime Minister and I have shared the responsibilities over the operations of the government and the party. We have created an atmosphere conducive to the government for focusing on its duties and responsibilities," the RSP President made it clear. 

He had departed for the five-day official visit to the southern neighbour at the invitation of BJP President Nabin. 

Before his departure from New Delhi, Nepal's Charge D'affaires to India Dr Surendra Thapa, BJP's Foreign Affairs Department chief Dr Bijay Chauthaiwale were at New Delhi-based Indira Gandhi International Airport to see him off,  according to the Embassy of Nepal, New Delhi. 

During the visit, the RSP President held separate bilateral meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chair Nabin. 

The discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations and matters of mutual interests. 

Lamichhane's entourage included his spouse Nikita Paudel, RSP joint general secretary and House of Representatives (HoR) member Bipin Kumar Acharya, RSP secretariat member and HoR member Deepak Bohara, and his private secretary Pradip Acharya.

The official visit of Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), to India—undertaken at the invitation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—marks a shift in contemporary Nepal-India relations. 

While fundamentally a party-to-party engagement, New Delhi strategically leveraged this opportunity to gauge the strategic outlook of the ruling dispensation in Kathmandu and channel critical diplomatic overtures to Prime Minister Balendra Shah. The diplomatic protocol accorded to Lamichhane by New Delhi reflects respect for the people’s mandate in the March 5 election, from which the RSP emerged as the largest party. India had planned to invite both Lamichhane and Shah, but the latter declined to visit New Delhi so soon. Top Indian leaders congratulated Lamichhane on the RSP’s victory in the elections and conveyed India’s best wishes for the success of the new government.

The engagement between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lamichhane transcended a mere courtesy call, transitioning into formal, delegation-level talks—a rare occurrence for such meetings. Historically, meetings between Prime Minister Modi and visiting Nepali leaders who were not sitting prime ministers were limited to brief courtesy calls. Following his meeting with Lamichhane, Modi stated that Nepal remains a priority partner under India’s Neighborhood First policy. He added that India looks forward to collaborating with the new government to elevate the special and multifaceted relationship between the two countries to greater heights.

During his interaction with the Indian political leadership, Lamichhane sought to frame the RSP as a forward-looking, pragmatic entity. He explicitly communicated to Prime Minister Modi that the RSP carries "no political baggage" from the past, expressing a desire to look beyond historical constraints and embrace a new era of development diplomacy. This vision focuses heavily on digital corridors, trade normalization, and seamless physical connectivity.

The presence of India's core foreign policy and security apparatus—including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval—underscored the high strategic stakes. 

In these discussions, Prime Minister Modi reportedly proposed a structured, prioritized framework to address outstanding bilateral issues incrementally. Furthermore, a separate meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who rarely receives foreign political dignitaries, indicates that New Delhi used this channel to directly communicate its core national security imperatives regarding regional stability.

 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also met with Lamichhane, noting afterward that their discussions focused on the India-Nepal development partnership and people-to-people ties, which play a crucial role in promoting growth and prosperity.

Since assuming office, Prime Minister Shah has instituted a policy of strict institutional adherence, mandating that foreign envoys operate exclusively through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rather than seeking direct political audiences. This stance subsequently led to the deferral of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's planned visit to Kathmandu, creating a distinct communication asymmetry and strategic vacuum between the two capitals. 

Consequently, in the absence of traditional government-to-government (G2G) engagement, New Delhi opted to utilize Lamichhane’s visit to conduct substantive deliberations on bilateral portfolios that typically require state-level channels. While Lamichhane holds no formal portfolio within the executive branch, his position as the leader of the ruling party provided India with a viable conduit to resume high-level political dialogue.

This diplomatic re-engagement occurs against the backdrop of India's historical role in stabilizing Nepal's volatile political transitions. Following the destabilizing protests of September 8 and 9, New Delhi actively supported the interim mechanisms led by Sushila Karki to ensure electoral democratic continuity. 

The subsequent electoral outcome, which saw the traditional political establishment displaced by an RSP two-thirds majority, was initially welcomed by India as an opportunity for a reset, prompting immediate high-level congratulatory outreach from Prime Minister Modi. However, the bilateral trajectory soon plateaued. The Shah administration’s subsequent policy decisions inadvertently strained cross-border, people-to-people ties, fostering a climate of mutual mistrust. Lamichhane’s visit, augmented by a strategic op-ed in The Hindustan Times, sought to clarify the RSP's vision for bilateral engagement and mitigate these anxieties.

Reportedly, New Delhi has sought explicit clarity from the RSP leadership on key disputed issues such as the boundary dispute, the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty, and Nepal's broader alignment with China and Western powers. Historically averse to Kathmandu utilizing a "China card" to balance regional power, New Delhi remains equally cautious of a potential foreign policy tilt toward Western spheres of influence by the current administration. New Delhi has reportedly expressed displeasure over the foreign policy document unveiled by the RSP during electioneering.

The future trajectory of Nepal-India relations now hinges on how Prime Minister Balendra Shah internalizes the outcomes of Lamichhane's visit. Two distinct diplomatic scenarios emerge. In the first scenario, PM Shah could view the visit pragmatically as a useful backchannel diplomatic mechanism, adopting the understandings reached in New Delhi to normalize relations without compromising his domestic posture. 

Conversely, the Shah administration could perceive the elevated, state-like reception accorded to Lamichhane as a calculated maneuver by New Delhi to exploit internal divisions within Nepal's ruling coalition or alter domestic political alignments. This could trigger a defensive reaction, pushing the Prime Minister toward a more rigid, nationalist foreign policy stance. 

 As formal diplomatic tracks resume with Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal’s official visit to India. During the visit, two foreign ministers will review the entire gamut of bilateral relations. 

As global geopolitics undergo rapid shifts in early 2026, the United States has noticeably ramped up its diplomatic interest in Nepal. Following the formation of a powerful and stable government in Kathmandu led by senior Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader Balendra Shah, Washington has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activities. 

With Donald Trump serving his second term as US President, a series of high-level visits by American diplomats signals a renewed and strategic dimension in the US approach to Nepal. Over the past two months, Kathmandu has witnessed back-to-back visits from senior US officials. 

In mid-April, Samir Paul Kapur, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, visited Nepal. During his trip, Kapur held in-depth discussions on bilateral interests with RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane, Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle, and Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal. He also engaged with private sector representatives to explore avenues for boosting American investment in the country. 

Just 10 days later, Sergio Gor, the Special Envoy for South and Central Asia and US Ambassador to India, arrived in Kathmandu. Gor praised the Nepal government for securing an ‘incredible mandate’ for good governance and transformative change, expressing Washington’s eagerness to collaborate. 

 Furthermore, US under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah B Rogers visited Nepal this week.

As the highest-ranking American diplomat to visit Nepal since the formation of the new government, she held critical meetings with top political leaders and government officials. 

To understand this renewed focus, one must look at broader US strategy. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth firmly dismissed the notion that America is withdrawing from Asia. Despite other global commitments, Hegseth reiterated that the Indo-Pacific remains a paramount strategic priority. He announced a significant policy shift: the US will no longer unilaterally bear the major burden of global security. Instead, economically capable allies must invest more in their own defense, moving towards a model of shared responsibility. 

However, Hegseth assured that the US would continue to provide essential assistance, including in the security sector, to developing nations like Nepal. This pragmatic approach was further elaborated by Deputy Assistant Secretary Kapur during a US Congressional hearing earlier this year. Kapur clarified that ‘America First’ does not mean ‘America Alone’. 

The core US interest is to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, preventing any hostile power from dominating the South Asian subcontinent. Through enhanced defense cooperation, technology sharing, and regional alliances, the US is fortifying its presence in the region—with its recent engagements in Nepal serving as a pivotal component of this broader geopolitical vision.