A popular alliance has been formed between the Rastriya Swatantra Party RSP and Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Balendra Shah, which has been approved after a committee meeting. The alliance is poised to challenge the older parties in Nepal, which have been in power for over three decades.
Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician and mayor, joined hands with the RSP, which is led by former TV host-turned-politician Rabi Lamichhane, on Sunday, party officials said.
The parties came to a seven-point agreement on various issues ahead of the upcoming March 5 elections to the House of Representatives.
Under the agreement, the 35-year-old Balen Shah will become the prime minister if the RSP wins the elections, and Lamichhane will remain party chief.
The two have also agreed to address the the demands raised by the youth-led “Gen Z” protests that took place in September, during which 77 people were killed. The protests had also led to the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
RSP leader Lamichhane is currently out on bail after being released on December 18 and has since then intensified work on politics, including several meetings with Shah. He was in prison for connection to a case where he was accused of alleged misuse of funds collected by cooperatives from small depositors. He had formed the party ahead of the 2022 elections and became popular for his anti-corruption campaign as a TV host.
In a Facebook post, Lamichhane shared, "Consensus should be what the country needs, not what the leader wants."
The agreement had also initially included Ujaayalo Nepal party leader Kulman Ghising, but he could not be convinced, according to party representatives