Balen Shah to be presented as Nepal's next Prime Ministerial candidate as Kathmandu Mayor, RSP strike deal

Balen Shah (Image courtesy: The Himalayan Times)

• Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah named RSP's PM candidate for March 2025 elections
• RSP chair Lamichhane stays as central chairman under new unity agreement
• Party to expand structure, focus on youth activism and anti-corruption reforms

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Nepal's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan, Balendra Shah, struck a deal on Sunday morning, setting him to be the party's parliamentary leader and its prime ministerial candidate for the national elections set to take place in March next year.

The "broad unity" between the party and the Kathmandu Mayor comes ahead of the upcoming House of Representatives elections next year.

As per the 7-point agreement, RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane will continue as the party's central chairman, while Shah will be presented as the party's parliamentary leader after the elections and its prime ministerial candidate.

The two sides have been in talks on cooperation and unity for weeks, with Lamichhane and Shah holding a series of formal and informal meetings.

The agreement made public in the early hours of Sunday outlines the unified party's shared political vision, leadership arrangement, and future course of action.

According to the agreement document, both sides have committed to addressing public aspirations by strengthening good governance within a pluralistic democratic system, guided by an open and socially just economic framework.

It also underscores a shared resolve to institutionalise voices raised through various public movements against corruption and misgovernance.

The document references explicitly youth-led movements, including the Gen Z protests held on September 8 and September 9, which it says reflected broader public frustration with prevailing political practices. The parties have pledged to translate such demands into concrete political action.

Following the agreement, the party's organisational structure will be expanded and strengthened.

The document states that capable, inclusive and publicly credible youth activists, along with experienced professionals and experts, will be entrusted with responsibilities within the party.

The agreement further reiterates that the Rastriya Swatantra Party's core principles, leadership structure and election symbol, the bell, will remain unchanged. It also invites other reform-oriented and responsible political forces, groups and individuals to rally around the party under this framework.

The RSP had emerged as the fourth most significant political force, winning 21 seats in the dissolved House of Representatives within a year of its establishment.