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Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah Named RSP PM Candidate After Pre-Poll Merger Pact

The pact channels September’s youth protests into an electoral push under the RSP banner.

Overview

  • A seven-point agreement reached after overnight talks installs the 35-year-old as RSP parliamentary leader and the alliance’s prime ministerial face.
  • Shah’s team will merge into the RSP and contest the March 5, 2026 elections on the party’s Bell symbol, with the name, flag and symbol unchanged for a party that was the fourth-largest in the dissolved House of Representatives.
  • Rabi Lamichhane will remain RSP chair, while the partners pledged to advance demands from Gen Z protesters, including support for those injured during the movement.
  • The deal is widely viewed as consolidating youth-driven forces that arose from the September unrest, which contributed to the fall of the K. P. Sharma Oli government.
  • Observers expect a surge of Gen Z supporters toward the RSP, while Kulman Ghising’s Ujyalo Nepal Party remains undecided after talks with Shah.