Kathmandu

Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on Friday heading towards a sweeping victory in Nepal’s first general election since last year’s youth-led protests forced the resignation of the government led by K. P. Sharma Oli.

According to the Election Commission of Nepal, the RSP was leading in 70 of the 94 constituencies where counting was underway as of Friday afternoon. Major parties including the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and Nepal Communist Party were each ahead in six constituencies.

The election has been closely watched by India, which hopes that a stable government in the Himalayan nation will help strengthen bilateral development cooperation. Commenting on the development, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said New Delhi looked forward to working with the incoming government to further deepen the longstanding ties between the two countries.

In a key contest, Shah — popularly known as Balen — was leading in the Jhapa-5 constituency against four-time prime minister Oli. Early counting showed Shah securing 6,090 votes while Oli had received 1,248 votes.

Meanwhile, smaller groups such as the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Progressive Democratic Party and Shram Sanskrti Party, along with some independent candidates, were leading in one constituency each.

So far, the commission has officially declared two results. RSP candidate Ranju Darshana won the Kathmandu-1 seat with 15,455 votes, while Yogesh Gauchan Thakali of the Nepali Congress secured victory in Mustang with 3,307 votes.

Senior communist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, was also ahead of his rivals in Rukum East with 5,924 votes.

Media reports indicated that the RSP was leading in all ten constituencies of Kathmandu, reflecting strong urban support for the party.

Around 60 per cent of voters participated in the elections to Nepal’s House of Representatives of Nepal on Thursday. Vote counting began late the same night and was expected to conclude by Friday.

Formed in 2022 under the leadership of Rabi Lamichhane, the RSP had projected Shah as its prime ministerial candidate. Traditional parties, including the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, had been part of the coalition government that was ousted during mass youth protests last year.

The Nepali Congress fielded its president Gagan Thapa as its prime ministerial candidate, while the UML nominated Oli for the top post.

Nepal’s nearly 18.9 million eligible voters are electing 275 members to the House of Representatives. Of these, 165 members are chosen through the first-past-the-post system, while the remaining 110 are selected through proportional representation.

The latest election follows dramatic political upheaval in September last year when large-scale protests led by Gen Z activists forced Oli’s resignation. After his exit, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved Parliament and appointed former chief justice Sushila Karki as caretaker prime minister.

Protesters had raised issues such as corruption, nepotism, poor governance and the need for generational change in political leadership.

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Political instability has long been a challenge for Nepal, which has seen 14 governments in the past 18 years.