A New Political Era: RSP Emerges as Largest Party as Old Guard Falters

Kathmandu. In the counting of votes for the House of Representatives election, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has maintained a remarkable lead. According to the results so far under the first-past-the-post system, RSP has emerged as the largest party by winning 125 seats. The counting of votes in all 165 constituencies has been completed. According to the public results, the Nepali Congress has won 18 seats, while the CPN-UML has secured 9 seats. Similarly, the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) has won 8 seats.

Meanwhile, RSP also maintains a lead in the proportional representation (PR) vote count. According to the results so far, RSP has received 4,987,700 votes. The Nepali Congress has received 1,691,076 votes under the proportional system, while the CPN-UML has received 1,407,923 votes. Similarly, the Nepali Communist Party has received 766,392 votes.

There is a provision that a political party must receive at least 3 percent of the total votes to obtain seats under the proportional system in the House of Representatives election. Based on the counting so far, only the Rastriya Swatantra Party, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) appear to be in a position to cross that threshold. 

RSP, which emerged as a new political force and with which former Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor and rapper Balendra Shah is also associated, seems to be moving toward establishing a strong presence in parliament by achieving remarkable success in this election.

If this trend continues, it is estimated that RSP will add about 60 seats from the proportional system alone. Combining the direct and proportional seats in this way, RSP's total seat count could reach 185, which is more than a two-thirds majority (184 seats) in the 275-member House of Representatives.

The RSP wave has left the old established parties far behind. Regarding this success of Balen Shah and RSP, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also offered his congratulations. During a telephone conversation with RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane and leader Balen Shah on Monday evening, Prime Minister Modi extended his best wishes for the electoral success. 

He also expressed a commitment to take the relationship between India and Nepal to new heights by working together with the newly formed government.