Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on Saturday (March 7, 2026) heading towards a sweeping victory in Nepal’s first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests, shattering the dominance of established political parties in the politically fragile nation.

According to the latest Election Commission data, the RSP has won 18 seats and is ahead in 99 others.

Nepal election results: RSP’s poll surge upends country’s politics, heads towards landslide victory

The election is being closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to take forward the developmental partnership between the two sides.

“We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to further build on the robust multifaceted ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in Delhi on Thursday (March 5, 2026).

He said India has “consistently supported peace, progress and stability in Nepal and in keeping with our commitment, provided logistical supplies as per request from the Government of Nepal for these elections”.

The Nepali Congress has won four seats and is leading in 11 others, while the CPN-UML has won a seat and is leading in 11 constituencies. The Nepali Communist Party has bagged two seats and is leading in 10 constituencies. The Shram Sanskriti Party is now leading in only three seats, as opposed to six earlier.

Out of a total of 275 members of the Parliament, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportionate method.

In the Nepal elections, about 18.9 million voters were eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, with around 60 per cent of them turning out to vote on Thursday (March 5 2026).

Around 3,400 candidates are vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.

The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9 last year, ousted Prime Minister Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.

After Mr. Oli’s ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.

The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.

While vote counting continues in Nepal on Friday (March 6, 2026), the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) stretched its lead to 101 constituencies under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.

The RSP’s prime ministerial candidate Balendra Shah widened his lead to 11,945 votes, leaving former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli behind at 2,692. Jhapa-5, Mr. Oli’s home turf, has 163,379 registered voters.

Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress and Mr. Oli’s party, the CPN-UML, are trailing in 11 and 12 constituencies, respectively.

The RSP is also making gains under the proportional representation (PR) system, securing 11,562 votes. Of the 19,728 PR votes counted, the RSP’s share stands at 58%.

The Nepali Congress has 3,664 votes (18%), followed by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party with 1,752 votes (8.88%).

RSP’s Ranju Neupane and Biraj Bhakta Shrestha have already been declared winners in Kathmandu-1 and Kathmandu-8, respectively.

Also Read: Balendra Shah | Enigmatic mayor

People of Nepal cast their ballots on March 5 for a new House of Representatives, which was dissolved after the September Gen-Z protests.

Nepal elects 275 members to the House of Representatives — 165 under the FPTP system and 110 under the PR system.

PR seats are allocated based on the nationwide vote shares of parties, using the Sainte-Lague method.

Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Friday (January 23, 2026) withdrew his candidacy from Nepal’s upcoming general elections, saying he was honouring the sentiments of the Himalayan nation’s youth.

Mr. Bhattarai, 71, had earlier filed his nomination for the House of Representatives (HoR) from Gandaki province’s Gorkha-2 constituency representing the Pragatisheel Lokatantrik Party.

Announcing the withdrawal of his candidacy in a video message on social media, Mr. Bhattarai said he took the decision honouring the sentiments of the younger generation and the voters of Gorkha district.

“I will shoulder the responsibility as a guardian in the national politics without limiting myself to a certain party,” he said.

Elections in Nepal, which will take place on March 5, were necessitated after then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on September 9, following violent protests by the youth-led Gen Z group against his government over corruption and a ban on social media.

Sushila Karki, 73, became the interim Prime Minister on September 12 and on her recommendation, the President dissolved the HoR and announced the election date.

With Mr. Bhattarai’s withdrawal, three former Prime Ministers are now contesting the elections from different constituencies.

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chair Oli is contesting from Jhapa 5, Nepali Communist Party (NCP) coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is contesting from Rukum East, and NCP deputy coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal is contesting from Rautahat 1.

Separately, the Election Commission (EC) has said it is strictly monitoring the information disseminated through online news portals as well as personal social media accounts to avoid misuse of information that can impact the election process.

“We are monitoring mainly three categories of toxic information dissemination, including misinformation, disinformation and hate speech,” said EC spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai.

Those violating the election code of conduct by disseminating harmful information will be brought to justice, he added.