Rastriya Swatantra Party leads early in Nepal polls as vote counting continues

Nepal’s newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has taken an early lead in the country’s general elections as vote counting continued on Friday, according to preliminary figures from party sources and media reports.

The party, led by Balendra Shah popularly known as Balen, a Nepali politician, engineer, rapper, and former Mayor of Kathmandu, had secured three seats and was leading in dozens of constituencies where counting was underway by mid-morning.

The election marks Nepal’s first national vote since widespread youth-led protests last year brought down the coalition government headed by former prime minister K P Sharma Oli.

According to early trends, the RSP was leading in 45 of the 57 constituencies where counting had begun by 10am. The party has already won three seats in the Kathmandu Valley — Kathmandu-1, Kathmandu-7 and Kathmandu-8.

Biraj Bhakta Shrestha was declared the winner in Kathmandu-8, while Ranju Darshana won in Kathmandu-1 and Ganesh Parajuli secured victory in Kathmandu-7, party officials said. The Election Commission, however, has yet to formally announce the results.

Ranju Darshana reportedly secured more than 10,000 votes in Kathmandu-1, nearly twice the tally of her closest rival, Prabal Thapa Chhetri of the Nepali Congress.

Shah himself was leading in the Jhapa-5 constituency against former prime minister Oli, who heads the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), or CPN (UML).

Media reports also indicated that the RSP was ahead in all ten constituencies within the Kathmandu Valley.

Meanwhile, Oli’s CPN (UML) was leading in five seats, while the Nepali Congress — led by Gagan Thapa — was trailing in third place with leads in four constituencies.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), headed by former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, was leading in two seats, while the pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party was ahead in one.

Voter turnout in Thursday’s election was around 60 per cent, according to officials.

Counting of votes began late on Thursday night and is expected to conclude by Friday evening, the Election Commission said.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party, established in 2022, has rapidly gained support among younger voters and urban constituencies. Shah, a former rapper who rose to prominence during his tenure as Kathmandu mayor, is widely viewed as a potential candidate for prime minister if his party performs strongly.

Nepal’s election saw 18.9 million eligible voters choosing 275 members of the House of Representatives. Of these, 165 lawmakers are elected through the first-past-the-post system, while the remaining 110 are selected through proportional representation.

More than 3,400 candidates contested the 165 direct seats, while over 3,100 candidates competed for positions under the proportional voting system.

With PTI inputs