Kathmandu Mayor named as PM candidate
Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, was on Sunday named the prime ministerial candidate as he and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) inked a pact to jointly contest the March 5 Nepal elections. The seven-point agreement, reached after overnight marathon negotiations, designates 35-year-old Balen as the parliamentary party leader and the prime ministerial face, while Rabi Lamichhane will continue as chairperson of the RSP, the fourth-largest party in the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR).
As per the agreement, Balen and his group will contest the elections on the RSP’s election symbol ‘Bell’, allotted by the Election Commission. With Balen agreeing to merge his team with the RSP, the party’s name, flag and election symbol will remain unchanged. Following the agreement, Lamichhane said the consensus should reflect the needs of the country rather than the ambitions of individual leaders. He shared the remarks in a Facebook post on Sunday morning.
The agreement states that the two sides have taken “ownership of the movement launched by the younger generation against corruption and bad governance” and expressed commitment to address the demands raised by Gen Z protesters, including those injured during the movement. Observers see the pact as a significant step towards uniting emerging youth-led political forces that spearheaded the September movement, which led to the fall of the KP Sharma Oli-led Government. Following the deal, a large number of Gen Z supporters are expected to join the RSP.
Another newly formed group, the Ujyalo Nepal Party (UNP) led by Energy and Water Resources Minister Kulman Ghising—who has held several rounds of talks with Balen on unity and collaboration—is yet to announce a decision on joining the alliance. The signing ceremony was attended by senior RSP leaders, including Dr Swarnim Wagle, DP Aryal and Shishir Khanal, along with Asim Shah from Lamichhane’s side. Kumar Byanjankar, Nishchal Basnet and Bhoop Dev Shah represented Balen Shah’s camp.
