A tectonic shift in Nepal’s politics

The RSP’s stunning victory in the wake of the Gen Z protests  revealed a yearning for change across Nepal and even beyond 

The 2026 general election finally awarded Nepalis what they have long desired: a single-party majority government and an end to the  ghouls of fragile ruling coalitions – a root cause of constant horse trading and political instability. It also buried deep the three large parties  that have taken turns in government. No thanks to the politics of the past. 

This election has been stunningly different. Young and new faces have  dominated the political landscape, not least Rastriya Swatantra Party’s  (RSP) prime ministerial candidate Balen Shah, 35, himself. RSP itself is  a party formed only in 2022, when it secured 20 seats in the House of  Representatives. 

RSP’s climb to the top this election has been nothing short of spectacular.  The September 8 and 9 Gen Z movement against rampant political  corruption and nepotism in Nepal, which also paved the way for the  March 5 election by toppling the incumbent government headed by Prime  Minister KP Oli, represents a unique phenomenon. It is potentially the first  grassroots movement to have evolved entirely online before manifesting in  nationwide physical demonstrations to bring down a regime.

This article is a part of The Hindu’s e-book: Nepal’s new political moment

Nepal’s groundswell was distinctive in that it was led by only an estimated  30,000 to 50,000 participants across the nation. The heaviest footfall was  in the capital city of Kathmandu, where young citizens marched towards  the Parliament building. To the Gen Zers, this was the venue for petty  political machinations that exerted minimal influence on the lives and  livelihoods of individuals beyond the precincts of the hall. The September 8  protests were manifestations of profound disenchantment, indifference, or  even hostility towards the charade of traditional parties, who were engaged  in a game of musical chairs in the form of multi-party coalitions that had  been in office for a good part since 1990. 

On September 8, the parliament, alongside Singha Durbar – the seat of  the government – and the Supreme Court, was set ablaze by protestors,  leaving the most dominant forces of Nepal’s politics – the Nepali Congress,  the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), and  the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) – wondering about their  long-term future. The movement, however, was not ideologically uniform.  Segments of Gen Z also advocated for the reinstatement of the monarchy,  framing it as part of a broader dissatisfaction with political instability  and as one among several alternatives to reset the system. These voices  gained traction after September 2025, when debates intensified over who  governs Nepal and whether Nepal’s Constitution 2015 – in its current form – should be suspended to allow the entire governance architecture to reset.  Although the RSP had emerged as the alternative to the old guard of Nepali  politics, only a few had foreseen that it would be just two seats shy of two thirds in the 275-member House of Representatives.