Kathmandu, March 7: Early trends from the Nepal elections indicate that the country is poised to have a Prime Minister favored by Generation Z. Balen Shah, the Prime Ministerial candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is leading with a significant margin. Meanwhile, RSP President Rabi Lamichhane has been elected to the House of Representatives from Chitwan Constituency-2 by a large margin. The RSP has secured victories in most seats during this year’s parliamentary elections and is currently leading nationwide.
Lamichhane won with 54,402 votes, while his closest rival, Meena Kharel from the Nepali Congress, received 14,564 votes. This marks the third time that the former media personality turned politician has won from the same constituency. Over the past three years, Chitwan has become a stronghold for the RSP. Lamichhane was first elected to the lower house in the 2022 parliamentary elections. However, he lost his MP status after the Supreme Court of Nepal invalidated his citizenship certificate.
On January 27, 2023, the court stripped Lamichhane of his parliamentary seat, ruling that he had used his invalid citizenship to contest elections without reapplying for new citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship. Following this decision, he lost his position as an MP, his role as Home Minister, and the presidency of his party.
In the subsequent by-elections in April 2023, he contested again and was re-elected to the House with an even larger vote share. Over the past three years, prior to entering politics in 2022, Lamichhane faced controversies related to alleged fraud in cooperative institutions. Until a few months ago, he was in custody and was released by court order shortly before the March 5 elections.
His alliance with rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah has proven to be a masterstroke. The RSP has already won 20 seats and is leading in 95 out of 165 seats contested under the first-past-the-post system. Balen Shah is also ahead in the race against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa-5, eastern Nepal.
Traditional political parties, including the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), are trailing significantly behind the RSP in the ongoing vote count.
My name is Ganpat Singh Choughan. I am an experienced content writer with 7 years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including technology, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
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