Nepal: Modi Phones, Congratulates RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane, PM Candidate Balen Shah
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (March 9) spoke by telephone with leaders of Nepal’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), congratulating them on the party’s sweeping victory in the country’s parliamentary elections and expressing India’s readiness to work with the incoming government.
In a post on X, Modi said he had “warm telephone conversations” with RSP chairman Rabi Lamichhane and senior party leader Balendra Shah, who is the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
“Congratulated both leaders on their electoral victories and RSP’s resounding success in the Nepal elections,” Modi wrote. “Conveyed my best wishes for their forthcoming new Government and India's commitment to work with them for mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of our two countries.”
He added that he was confident India and Nepal's ties would “scale new heights in the years ahead”.
Lamichhane responded publicly to Modi’s message, thanking him for recognising the “democratic mandate of the Nepali people”. He said the RSP-led government would prioritise “development diplomacy” and looked forward to cooperation with India in connectivity, cultural tourism, energy and trade.
“We look forward to a partnership with India that scales new heights through cooperation in connectivity, cultural tourism, energy and trade, ensuring a prosperous future for the people of both countries,” Lamichhane wrote.
India is Nepal’s largest trading partner and a key economic partner, making the outcome of the election closely watched in New Delhi as Kathmandu prepares for a new government with an unprecedented mandate.
The conversations took place as Nepal’s vote count continued to confirm a landslide for the RSP in the March 5 parliamentary elections, marking a dramatic shift in the country’s political landscape.
The party has won 125 of the 165 directly elected seats in the lower house and is leading in another constituency, according to the latest figures from the Election Commission.
Under Nepal’s electoral system, the 275-member House of Representatives is chosen through a mixed model, with 165 seats elected through first-past-the-post contests and 110 allocated through proportional representation.
In the proportional vote tally as well, the RSP has established a commanding lead, securing over three million votes so far, far ahead of its nearest rival, the Nepali Congress, which has just over one million votes.
The scale of the victory positions the relatively new party to dominate the next government and represents a major setback for Nepal’s traditional political forces. The election was held under an interim government formed after violent youth-led protests ousted the K.P. Oli government last year.
Founded in 2022 by Lamichhane, a former television journalist and media personality, the RSP rose rapidly by campaigning on an anti-corruption and governance reform plank, tapping into widespread frustration with the country’s established political class.
A rapper and an engineer by training, Shah became a prominent national figure after winning the Kathmandu mayoral election in 2022 as an independent candidate on an anti-corruption platform. The 35-year-old later joined the RSP and resigned as mayor earlier this year to contest the parliamentary election as the party's prime ministerial candidate.
Shah defeated former Oli in the high-profile Jhapa-5 constituency by over 48,000 votes, underscoring the scale of the electoral shift underway in Nepal.
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