'Will Scale New Heights': PM Modi Congratulates Balen Shah, Seeks To Deepen India-Nepal Ties

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held “warm” telephone conversations with Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane and the party's Senior Leader Balendra Shah on Monday, congratulating them for their recent electoral victories in the recently held national elections in Nepal, the first once held after the Gen-Z protests broke out in the Himalayan country and brought down the KP Sharma Oli government. 

“Had warm telephone conversations with Mr. Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Mr. Balendra Shah, Senior Leader of the RSP. Congratulated both leaders on their electoral victories and RSP’s resounding success in the Nepal elections. 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,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

PM Modi also spoke of the deep ties shared by the two neighbouring countries and expressed hope that their ties will continue to grow stronger. 

“I am confident that with our joint efforts, the friendship between India and Nepal will reach new heights in the years ahead,” the Prime Minister said.

In the national elections in Nepal, 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah emerged victorious winning by a landslide, which indicates that the Himalayan country may be taking a sharp shift away from the conventional political parties. Balen secured 68,348 votes while KP Sharma Oli trailed behind with 18,734 votes.

The RSP has maintained that it is keen to have strong relations with both India and China, however, it has stressed that it wants to stay independent of any direct influence.

Who Won How Many Seats

As per the latest update from the Election Commission, the RSP has won 124 seats under the FPTP category while maintaining a lead in one more constituency. The Nepali Congress has secured 17 seats and is leading in one constituency. The CPN-UML has won eight seats and is leading in one constituency, while the Nepali Communist Party has secured seven seats.

The Shram Sanskriti Party has won three seats, while the Rastriya Prajatantra Party has secured one seat. Independent candidate Mahabir Pun has also been elected to the House of Representatives.

On March 5, voters cast their ballots to elect 165 candidates under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) category and for 110 seats under the Proportional Representation (PR) category.

With more than half of the votes counted under the Proportional Representation (PR) category in the House of Representatives election, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured nearly 50 per cent of the votes.

In the House of Representatives election, political parties must secure at least 3 per cent of the total PR votes to qualify for seats under the proportional representation system. Based on the current vote count, only RSP, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, NCP and RPP appear likely to cross the threshold.

If the vote share remains unchanged until the final count, the RSP is projected to win around 60 seats under the PR system. Similarly, the Nepali Congress may secure 20 seats, the CPN-UML 17 seats, the Maoist Centre eight seats, and the RPP five seats. Adding the projected 60 PR seats, the RSP could secure around 185 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

A party needs 184 seats to command a two-thirds majority in the House. If the current voting trend continues, the RSP appears on course to secure that threshold.

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