Voters in Nepal will decide their government’s fate on March 5, following a campaign blitz from February 16 that halts three days prior. Beyond leadership, these polls probe deeper crises of trust and direction.
Since ditching kingship in 2008—capping Shah era via 1990 uprising and Maoist truce—Nepal’s battled instability: serial coalitions, sleaze probes, power vacuums. September 2025’s youth-driven anti-graft storm, amplified on social platforms, toppled Oli and shattered parliament, clamoring for probity and prosperity.
Protest progeny now run, mirroring youth pulse amid 1 million new voters post-2022. Their insurgency could fracture old paradigms.
Star: 35yo Balen Shah, rapper-engineer ex-mayor, RSP’s (Lamichhane 2022) youth icon, framed as tomorrow’s PM opposing Oli in Jhapa-5.
Powerhouses persist: Oli’s UML dominance (73), Prachanda’s NCP helm (71), Thapa’s Congress charge (49), RPP’s pro-king echoes for Gyanendra.
India’s robust Nepal links—trade, power, culture—meet China’s BRI ambitions, locked by Oli’s 2024 framework for extensible three-year projects, but inertia breeds doubt. Sri Lanka woes compound tests for incoming rulers.
Will Gen Z rewrite rules? Reshape alliances? March 5 unveils Nepal’s next chapter.