This event is part of the series “The Neighbourhood Scope,” a monthly feature of the Strategic Studies Programme that intends to rekindle key conversations, questions, and debates concerning India’s neighbourhood.
The March 5 elections in Nepal, following the September 2025 Gen Z protests, spearheaded a new dawn in Nepal’s electoral trajectory. The four-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) secured an overwhelming majority, winning a total of 182 seats in the 275 member House of Representatives. The party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, former Kathmandu Mayor, Balendra Shah, is expected to assume the prime ministership on March 27. In a country long mired with political instability, the emergence of a new political force has led to both positive anticipation as well as anxieties about how the country will fare in the next five years.
What will be the immediate priorities for the new government? Will the RSP be successful in fulfilling the commitments made in its electoral manifesto, particularly on economic growth, stemming out-migration from the country and tackling corruption? What challenges can the party face, both politically, from the old guard as well as internally within the party? How will Nepal’s foreign policy priorities shape up under the new administration? How successful will the newly elected government be in addressing the demands made by the Gen Z groups as well as in following the recommendations of the Karki commission? Is the old guard gone for good or can they resuscitate themselves after this defeat?
