Nepal’s parliamentary polls are witnessing a youthquake, with Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) surging to the forefront and Rabi Lamichhane clinching a decisive victory in Chitwan-2: 54,402 votes to 14,564 for rival Meena Kharel of Nepali Congress. It’s his hat-trick in the constituency, turning it into RSP’s unassailable bastion.
From TV host to thrice-elected MP, Lamichhane’s path is littered with hurdles. His 2022 win evaporated when the Supreme Court, on January 27, 2023, nullified his citizenship for relying on lapsed papers after ditching U.S. nationality, stripping his legislative, ministerial, and chairmanship roles.
The April 2023 bypoll saw him reclaim glory with amplified support. Recent fraud probes in cooperatives led to brief incarceration, but court release timed perfectly for this vote. Pairing with Balen Shah—now ahead of KP Oli in Jhapa-5—proved genius.
RSP locks 20 seats, tops 95 of 165 FPTP slots, dwarfing Nepali Congress and CPN-UML. Shah’s lead tees up a Gen-Z PM prospect. This RSP blitz reflects Nepal’s craving for outsiders untainted by old scandals, potentially dismantling the status quo and injecting dynamism into South Asian politics.