Twenty-five years later, where are we? Exactly where we said we would be: with the impact of climate breakdown increasingly visible, good governance still a challenge, and the same politicians still playing musical chairs.
&nbsp;Four hydropower plants were damaged in the Rasuwa flood on the Nepal-China border in the first week of July, knocking out 230MW of Nepal’s power supply – 8% of the total. The September flood last year was worse: the damage caused by three days of rain in central and eastern Nepal slashed Nepal’s generation by 1,700MW, nearly half of the total capacity at the time.
Hydropower, while highly efficient, is unreliable in the fragile Himalayan landscape, vulnerable to earthquakes and cloudbursts. Still, Nepal continues to invest in mega hydropower plants without a proper environmental assessment. In fact, the goal is to generate 28,500MW in the next 10 years.
India has strategically removed China from all the hydropower projects in Nepal, with investments in multiple projects that give them 80% of the power generated before they officially hand them over to the country in 25 years. As it is, India is not after our hydropower, but water to regulate monsoon flow.
Diversification of the energy sector is of utmost importance. Apart from its vast hydropower potential, Nepal gets 300 days of sunlight on average for 6-8 hours per day. And yet, solar power has hardly been explored, even when the price of solar panels has fallen.&nbsp;
Some experts have also suggested promoting smaller infrastructure and decentralising them. One cannot help but think back to the ‘small is beautiful’ model that Nepal championed in the 70s and 80s with biogas, trolley buses, solar plants, windmills and micro hydro. In many ways, Nepal was way ahead of its time but couldn’t keep up when the demand soared.
Among the other energy options Nepali Times covered in 2025 was Pump Storage Hydro (PSH) in tandem with solar PV as an ideal solution that will give hydro development a new and more productive life in the years ahead, as well as increasing electricity quality. ‘Water is pumped from a lower reservoir or the side of river to a higher pond using cheap off-peak grid electricity or surplus solar PV power, and the stored water is then used to generate electricity during peak or no-sunlight periods,’ wrote energy expert Dipak Gyawali in Nepali Times issue #1247.
Regardless, Nepal now has surplus power, but much of it is spilled, especially during the monsoon. Geopolitical tension limits the export market for Nepal’s electricity but we must increase domestic demand, electrify transport, industries, agriculture, tourism. This also means the focus should now shift to transmission and distribution.
Transport, in particular, is considered a low-hanging fruit in regards to electricity use. Nepal is only behind Norway when it comes to the sales of electric cars which is 82% of the total four-wheeler imports. But unless the public transport is electrified, that won’t account for much.
Meanwhile, another prevailing infrastructure challenge continues to be roads and highways. Road accidents kill seven people every day in the country, higher than most ‘natural’ disasters. Nijgad airport continues to be the national pride project of highest priority in every budget. However, it is not an airport project but a logging concession.
Meanwhile, trains made headlines in 2025. On one hand, we have the ambitious Kerung-Kathmandu railway, part of China’s Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network. Not to be outdone, India has a final local survey ongoing for the Raxual-Kathmandu railway. But Nepal’s own East-West Railway, first conceived in 2007, is still stuck on the tracks due to issues with land acquisition and environmental concerns.
What has really taken off this year is artificial intelligence. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek (which come with their own biases), in just a few months since their inception, has seen rapid advancement, aided by the vast data we are feeding the system. Meanwhile, AI bots realising they are both AI, are talking with each other in a mysterious code language that only they understand.
These advancements are bound to impact Nepal, including the $900 million we made by exporting backend IT services to the US and Europe. In the same breath, the government’s digital infrastructure is so outdated and archaic that citizens have to shuttle between windows to get their documentation for ID cards or licenses for which we need multiple biometrics. &nbsp;

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Rewind

2025

A cricket fever gripped the nation that proved that Nepal could both play in and organise tournaments at a global level. In 2024 Nepal took part in its first international cricket tournament at the highest level in the T20 World Cup held in the Americas. In the winter, the first ever Nepal Premier league was held.&nbsp; For the T20 World Cup in June, Nepali fans flew in from across the world and packed stadiums in Dallas and St Vincent and the Grenadines to witness history.&nbsp; On purely results, Nepal had a terrible tournament. Defeats against the Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh. A game against Sri Lanka abandoned due to rain, making for a grand total of one point. Yet, Nepal’s performance was anything but embarrassing. In fact, the team played underdog so well that it became local fan favorites.&nbsp; Against Bangladesh, Nepal fought right to the end, with only 30 needed off the last four overs. Friendly pitches helped the strong Nepali attack against South Africa which was held to only 115. They chased that score steadily, losing eventually by only one run. And against the Netherlands, dropped catches cost the match but the Dutch were still pushed to 18.4 overs.&nbsp; The theme seemed to be inexperienced batters getting carried away in the moment, swinging wildly for boundaries instead of keeping the score moving along with ones and twos. Yet for the frenzied Nepali fans, the low scoring thrillers were as enjoyable as the high-scoring bonanzas in the boundary-happy Indian Premier League.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260122100152_bf0493bf317f35d22d289cac2e10c4ec991188200ee2bfc69028ae43a7a5c3bb.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260122100152_bf0493bf317f35d22d289cac2e10c4ec991188200ee2bfc69028ae43a7a5c3bb" data-rendition-name="original" width="906" height="1372" loading="lazy" alt="Rewnd 2024 NT"> </figure>  Six months later, in late November, cricket buzz reignited with the first edition of the Nepal Premier League. While domestic cricket tournaments had been happening for some while now, this was the first one at this scale and this level of organisation.&nbsp; Eight teams: Karnali Yaks, Biratnagar Kings, Chitwan Rhinos, Janakpur Bolts, Kathmandu Gurkhas, Lumbini Lions, Pokhara Avengers, and Sudurpaschim Royals all played each other, after which the top four progressed to playoffs.&nbsp; Teams were captained by a ‘marquee’ player, such as Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami, and some had international cricketers like Shikhar Dhawan and Martin Guptill, albeit in the dusk of their careers. The games were covered on YouTube and on Star Sports, making for high visibility.&nbsp; All the matches were held in Kathmandu to manage logistics. In the final, a strong chase from the Janakpur Yaks helped them beat the Sudurpaschim Royals, who had been the best team over the tournament. Hardly anybody had anything bad to say about the tournament. It was an excellent example of taking stock of the resources at hand and doing the best job possible. Holding games across the country would have been excellent, but unrealistic and over ambitious. Instead the planners kept it all in the capital, and executed, providing a strong foundation for future tournaments and improvements. Elsewhere in sports, para-taekwondo player Palesha Govardhan won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, becoming the first Nepali athlete ever to medal at the games. And Nepalis also turned out in big numbers to watch the SAFF Women’s Championship, with 1 million watching the final between Nepal and Bangladesh - although Nepal ended up losing.&nbsp; The semi-final had been most interesting as well, with fans protesting so raucously what they saw as blatant refereeing mistakes that there were 72 minutes where play had to be stopped. &nbsp;&nbsp;

2024

2023 was the year of scandals. A new scam was exposed by investigative journalists seemingly almost every week.
In March, investigative reporter Devendra Bhattarai broke the story in Kantipur that linked &nbsp;bureaucrats and politicians to human traffickers in a scam to provide false papers to Nepalis so they could migrate to the United States as Bhutan refugees.
Former home minister Bal Krishna Khand of the NC and former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi of the UML were among those arrested for their role in the scam. They &nbsp;implicated other senior NC leaders.&nbsp;
Elsewhere, the CIB recommended that the government prosecute those implicated in parcelling out nationalised real estate in Baluwatar. Those involved included land revenue officials, party leaders, bureaucrats, ministers, as well as former prime ministers Babauram Bhattarai and Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Notable Nepali figures including Bhatbhateni Supermarket owner Min Bahadur Gurung, as well as officials of the Land Revenue Office were arrested for their involvement in the scam, but Bhattarai and Nepal were spared.
Then in July, the Department of Revenue raided the cargo terminal at Kathmandu airport and seized 61kg of gold being smuggled in from Hong Kong hidden inside brake shoes of two-wheelers, making it the biggest haul of contraband gold in Nepal’s history at the time.
Nepal Police arrested customs officials, Chinese and Indian nationals, and middlemen. Top politicians including former Maoist minister Barshaman Pun, former speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, the family of former vice-president Nanda Kishor Pun, and Maoist Centre vice-chair Krishna Bahadur Mahara and his son were implicated.
Investigative journalists then uncovered Mahara pressuring officials to release the gold for auction. Mahara, who evaded police, would be arrested from Kapilvastu in March 2024.
In October, arrest warrants were issued for numerous individuals embezzling deposits from cooperatives across the country to fund business ventures. Then Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane was among those accused of defrauding Nepalis of millions by diverting deposits to fund Galaxy TV, of which he was co-founder before he entered politics.
Lamichhane initially transferred the CIB chief investigating the case. His party eventually exited the coalition government, and Lamichhane has at present been stripped of his lawmaker status, and remains in custody pending investigation.
The scandals exposed systemic corruption and rot at the top of Nepali politics, bureaucracy, and business, but also spotlighted the role of investigative journalists and a free press in holding truth to power.
We wrote after the fake refugee scam and details of the Lalita Niwas land grab emerged in 2023:
‘It was the media that first exposed the fake refugee scam and has been uncovering some of the sordid details in the Baluwatar land scam. The Nepal Police and the CIB also appear to have been given a free hand in pursuing the cases..it could also be argued that the scandals have been exposed and investigated precisely because Nepal has a free media, functioning rule of law and independent investigations.’ &nbsp;

2023

The 2022 election year began with the Deuba-led coalition government ratifying the much-delayed $500 million MCC grant for transmission lines to distribute and export power across Nepal despite fierce opposition from the Maoist Centre and the Unified Socialists.&nbsp;
The row threatened the Deuba-Dahal-Nepal alliance. Dahal and Nepal ultimately agreed to support its ratification on condition that it be accompanied by an ‘interpretative declaration’ addressing concerns about the project, the viability of which was questioned by experts:&nbsp;
‘..even as the declaration seems to have kept the governing coalition intact and ratified the MCC, experts have questioned the validity of such a document. Others have called the document redundant, and that it is merely a face-saving exercise for the Maoists and Unified Socialist leadership.’
Then the three main parties began wheeling &nbsp;and dealing to make and break alliances in preparation of the upcoming local and federal elections. In May, as Nepal’s established parties battled it out in local elections, independent candidates won the mayor races in major cities like rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah in Kathmandu.&nbsp;
A collective of young professionals came together to form the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) under the leadership of former tv personality Rabi Lamichhane, who contested the November 2022 election on a platform of anti-establishment and anti-corruption.
The NC led in the polls with the UML second, the Maoists came a distant third, while Madhav Kumar Nepal’s Unified Socialists was unable to scrape together enough votes to be recognised as a national party. The RSP emerged as the fourth largest party in Parliament with 21 MPs, and Lamichhane would go on to become Home Minister.
Numerous independents also bagged direct seats. We reported as the votes were being counted:&nbsp;
‘Although these numbers may look like the big parties are still in control, the electorate has sent a clear message by elevating the independent RSP as a national party in Parliament with more than 1 million votes. With its 7 change-minded MPs, the RSP will have clout in the federal Parliament — a remarkable feat considering the party was only formed six months ago.’
The RSP’s success was a reflection of the expectations of Nepali voters in young technocrats to change the nature of politics and governance of the country.
Three years after the 2022 election, Lamichhane is in custody for his involvement in a &nbsp;cooperatives scam , and the technocratic party seems to be bogged down in the same swamp it vowed to clean up.
Meanwhile, the same could not be said about the inclusion of women and minority communities in governance. Top leadership once again denied female leaders tickets to contest direct elections, preferring to fulfil the 33% Constitutional quota by nominating women through the PR list.
After the results came in, the pre-election Deuba-Dahal alliance fell apart, and Dahal formed a coalition government with UML and RSP as his biggest partners — even though the NC had emerged as the largest party in Parliament. But that was before Oli pulled the rug from under the coalition barely a year later. &nbsp;

2022

On midnight 22 May 2021, then-president Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved Parliament at the behest of UML Chair K P Sharma Oli after he failed to be reappointed prime minister. Oli had previously also dissolved Parliament in December 2020, but the Supreme Court overturned his decision, calling it unconstitutional. The short-lived Nepal Communist Party that merged the UML and Maoists thus split, creating an irreconcilable rift within UML bigwigs Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal. All of this happened while Nepal was in the throes of the deadly Delta variant, and 150 Nepalis were dying every day. We wrote in 2021: ’The reshuffle highlighted the government’s inability to focus attention on protecting Nepalis with vaccines while the virus is ravaging the countryside, and addressing the loss of jobs during the lockdown.’ NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba consequently led a five-party alliance of 149 MPs -- from the NC, the Maoist Centre as well breakaway factions of the JSP and the UML -- to file a writ petition after President Bhandari thwarted claims from both Oli and and an opposition alliance of a House majority to form the next government.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260115110128_f61dad24fc3661e0560ba1f31e6696e1bf3af4b57808b2edb6c85005a90c3182.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260115110128_f61dad24fc3661e0560ba1f31e6696e1bf3af4b57808b2edb6c85005a90c3182" data-rendition-name="original" width="855" height="879" loading="lazy" alt="Rewind 2021 NT"> </figure>  In July, the Supreme Court once again overturned Oli’s decision and reinstated the House of Representatives, ordering Deuba be installed as prime minister. The Maoist Centre backed Deuba, making way for a new coalition government which Deuba would be in charge of until the next general election. Meanwhile, UML’s Nepal faction backed Deuba for prime minister, which became the straw that broke the camel’s back for Oli and Nepal’s relationship. By August, the Nepal faction had broken away from Oli to form its own CPN-Unified Socialists. Mahanta Thakur also split from the Janta Samajwadi Party to form his Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP). In the months that followed, the major parties began to prepare for their general conventions and the upcoming election, as the Unified Socialists and Maoists — which had become smaller parties — struggled to find their footing in the new political landscape.&nbsp; Meanwhile, political infighting and reshuffling of power in government had brought governance to a standstill amidst an ongoing pandemic. This post break-up era of politics was the beginning of the musical chairs of coalition governments and premiership between K P Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal that we are still going through in 2025. &nbsp;

2021

The world before and after Covid-19 are two different realities. The pandemic was a Hollywood dystopian nightmare and changed how people live and work, what we eat, and how we travel, our social dynamics and technological leaps. It also exposed or, in some cases, aggravated pre-existing inequalities. While the exact origin of the virus, which was first reported on a small scale in November 2019 from Wuhan remains contentious, Covid-19 was the latest in a long line of infections that jumped from animals to people, establishing the connection between new and emerging diseases with the relentless extraction of natural resources. It also widened the gap between the rich and poor countries. Countries sealed their borders and locked their citizens in the confines of their homes, but they could not do the same to the novel coronavirus. The world is a global village, a wily virus detected in one part of the world rapidly spread to every known corner in a matter of days. It continues to this day with a new sub-variant of the Covid-19 being detected every couple of months. After the shutdowns, the repatriation of Nepali migrant workers became a priority (right). They had lost their jobs in destination countries and had no way of coming back. There were some Nepali embassies in West Asia which worked overtime to bring workers back home safely. Migrants from India walked for days only to be stopped at the border. Desperate, some even swam across the Mahakali River to get home.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026010112014_7efbb5d1ca8c42b9af02f5b60068d8b539fc6a8c6762b156e725d838df77c460.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026010112014_7efbb5d1ca8c42b9af02f5b60068d8b539fc6a8c6762b156e725d838df77c460" data-rendition-name="original" width="1094" height="1130" loading="lazy" alt="Rewind 2020 NT"></figure>  Before long, hospitals were overflowing with patients and there were not enough supplies or staff. The Nepali diaspora sent home money in record numbers, they also flew equipment including medical supplies such as oxygen cylinders. The poorest were the hardest hit. The lockdowns meant they had no source of income, and their health and nutrition were directly compromised. This was even more acute during the second wave caused by the more aggressive Delta variant. Even younger people were hospitalised, and the need for a vaccine, especially for the elderly and people with comorbidities, was at its peak. Improved hygiene and mask wearing saved many lives. With no vehicular or industrial pollution across the Subcontinent, Nepal’s air was clean again. Mt Everest was visible from Kathmandu, Abhushan Gautam’s iconic photograph was on Nepali Times #1011.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026010112014_36b8eb5b4a97bce1455a8d94b07a4b54a258cdb1ed08538256e9b83d297920bb.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026010112014_36b8eb5b4a97bce1455a8d94b07a4b54a258cdb1ed08538256e9b83d297920bb" data-rendition-name="original" width="782" height="1154" loading="lazy" alt="Rewind 2020 NT"></figure>  Vaccine diplomacy came into play. COVAX, a global vaccine initiative, was at least able to deliver the first batch of vials to the neediest, showing that multilateralism was still relevant. Even so, some are more equal than others. Our very first coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic (pictured) by research scientist Sameer Mani Dixit was dated 29 January 2020, when the global death toll was at 213 and a little over 9,000 cases. By the end of the pandemic, it had claimed at least 7,010,681 lives. Covid-19 has had other insidious impacts on society, ranging from undermining previous gains on public health and poverty to societal breakdown, mental health, and racism. The pandemic touched every corner of public and private life and reshaped the world. Covid-19 also brought the world together. Never before had there been a quicker breakthrough in terms of vaccine development as countries with the most resources facilitated the process. Nepal became one of the biggest contributors to the Covid recovery trial which found that a cheap steroid dexamethasone was the most effective drug for the treatment of hospitalised Covid patients. Just five years later, the world is more polarised than ever before, Covid is still lurking amidst vaccine denial in the US, people are more intolerant towards differences, countries are pouring money into wars and moving away from humanitarian causes. We have forgotten how the pandemic turned the world upside down, and that it can happen again.

2020

Geopolitics took a front seat in 2019. Leaders of both of Nepal’s neighbours paid high level visit in the same year. S Jaishankar, the minister for foreign affairs of India, visited in August 2019, for the Nepal-India joint commission meeting. His visit was considered crucial in improving ties between both Nepal and India, which were strained after his previous visit in 2015 which led to the border blockade.
Editorial in #974: 
‘Nepal’s strategy in dealing with its larger neighbour should be guided by pragmatism, and not petulant stubbornness. We should do our homework before negotiations and work in the spirit of give and take.’ 
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kathmandu in October 2019, the first by a Chinese president in 23 years. The visit was considered of great importance with projects including BRI discussed. Twenty agreements were signed, including 18 MoUs and two letters of exchange. Six years later, there has not been much progress on any of these – largely due to political instability and lethargy in Nepal.
Bhaskar Koirala in #981 wrote: 
‘One of the issues that loomed large for Nepal during this historic Xi visit (and will continue to reverberate) is how the country is going to navigate between the two large overarching geopolitical constructs of the day-the BRI and the Indo-Pacific Strategy. How will Nepal balance BRI and IPS?’
Nepal does have a non-alignment policy, but the movement is moot. Balancing between the two large neighbours has always seemed a difficult task for Nepal, and depending on the ruling party in Kathmandu, was seen to be leaning towards one or the other. 
Relations with India took a dip in 2019 after India published a map including the east side of the Kali river, which has historically been a part of Nepal. Nationalist outrage spread like wildfire in Nepal, and PM Oli cashed in on this by making the map that included Limpiyadhura official. Not to be outdone, the NC, which was in opposition then, also mobilised its student union to protest outside the Indian Embassy. 
The editorial in #984 conceded that India was acting like a Big Brother, but advised Nepalis to be more concerned and care about their boundaries, only then will the neighbours will respect it. 
A rare protest against China also erupted when the India-China joint communique on Lipu Lekh was released in 2015. Meanwhile, Nepal's remote border districts bordering China were finally being connected to the highway network. Although this brought relief to locals, there were concerns about how it would impact the fragile culture and ecology of highlands like Dolpo.
Nepali Times also carried the popular Miss Moti cartoon series by Kripa Joshi every week with a message against body shaming, for tolerance, and respect for nature.

2019

The year 2018 marked a disastrous year for air safety with the US-Bangla crash at Kathmandu airport on 12 March. The tragedy pinpointed concerns about aviation safety and governance in Nepal, even though this particular accident was blamed on a mentally disturbed captain. The crash killed 51 people, most of them recent medical graduate students. The air crash tarnished Nepal’s aviation industry and its international image even more, with the European Union (EU) continuing to blacklist the country's airlines.&nbsp;
Migrant workers frequently travel to and from Nepal, and many migrants faced difficulties in traveling, due to expensive tickets, and cheating by middlemen and manpower companies among others. The safety of migrant workers could be ensured by airlines creating a favourable environment for Nepali workers through alliances and corporate social responsibility. Upasana Khadka in #907 wrote:
‘Airlines could set aside some tickets every week for stranded migrants, provide last minute unsold tickets for those who are in dire need of help. These could be based on referrals from embassies and rescue organisations.
Airlines can be an important and natural partner in efforts to promote safe migration by moving from a transactional relationship towards social responsibility.’
Kathmandu hosted the XII World Congress on Mountain Medicine 21-24 November. The Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) established an aid post in Pheriche in the 1970s, which helped save people suffering from altitude sickness. Mountain medicine expert Peter Hackett in #935 emphasised the importance of mountain medicine and the role of medical personnel, researchers and aid posts in preventing fatalities.
Before the advent of modern transportation, no one could travel high enough fast enough to get into much trouble. Altitude illness is therefore mainly a problem of modern times. Nepal has now developed a large cadre of young physicians &nbsp;specialising in high-altitude medicine.&nbsp;
Mentored by Buddha Basnyat, these young doctors are carrying on the tradition of quality care of victims of altitude illness, research on causes and treatments, and developing systems of administering care to diverse populations.&nbsp;
Altitude sickness also became a concern for Indian pilgrims travelling to Mansorovar. Nepalganj became the gateway for Indian pilgrims travelling to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet via Hilsa. Many of them use &nbsp;the Nepalganj route to visit Kailash, boosting the hospitality and aviation sector in Nepalganj.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) meeting was hosted by Nepal in August 2018. The fourth edition of the international convention witnessed the member countries visit Nepal and encourage economic cooperation and connectivity. Matters of hydropower and joint military exercises were discussed, and member countries agreed to cooperate regionally beyond bilateralism. &nbsp;

2018

The first local-level election after the promulgation of the 2015 Constitution was held under a Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government in three phases on 14 May, 28 June and 18 September.
Nepal’s first party-based local elections were held in 1959, and the last successful local election before the federal system was in 1997, soon after the armed Maoist insurgency began.&nbsp;
Ahead of the first phase of the polls in May 2017, Nepali Times traced the history of local level elections in Nepal, and prepared a Village Development Committee map of the 1997 local election results.
From May to September, municipal and ward- level leaders were elected to 753 local units. Nepal has had one more election after 2017, and the general consensus has been that the performance of municipalities has exceeded expectations, but the same cannot be said of provincial governments.
Dasain in 2017 fell between the end of the local election and the upcoming general election. We wrote:&nbsp;
‘We are now finally nearing the end of a two-decade-long political transition. The peace process has dragged on, and we waited years haggling over the kind of federalism and the names of provinces and their borders, only to find out now that all the people wanted were jobs at home.. affordable education and medical facilities, electricity and fuel, and to be left alone to pursue their own happiness.’
Provincial and parliamentary elections were held on 26 November and 7 December. The UML and Maoists had formed an electoral alliance with the intention of merging after the polls, which the NC, RPP and Madhes-based parties countered with their own ‘democratic alliance’.
The UML and Maoists combined to form Nepal’s largest party, the Nepal Communist Party, in 2018 but the merger would be short-lived. The UML consequently swept the polls, and K P Oli went on to be the prime minister in a left-led government. The end of the election operationalised a federal, secular, democratic Nepal.
The work was then cut out for the newly-elected leadership to govern properly. An excerpt from a column after the election in December 2017:&nbsp;
‘There is a Constitution to implement, hundreds of new laws and regulations to enact under it, constitutional principles of local government to be defended, inter-community relations to be normalised, inter-relationships within the new state structure to be defined and rationalised, and a confident new foreign policy put in place, especially to tackle the two ascendant neighbours.’
Nepal also elected leaders to the seven provincial assemblies for the first time in 2017. However, despite Nepalis by and large welcoming a federal system, some felt that federalism was wasteful and should be scrapped, a sentiment that pro-monarchist parties and the RSP have now capitalised on.&nbsp;
Various studies and surveys however show that Nepalis understand the ineffectiveness of the provinces lies in the federal leadership reluctant &nbsp;to devolve power and decentralise. &nbsp;

2017

In January, the blockade was lifted much to the relief of Nepalis. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, prime minister for the second time, travelled to India to patch up relations with Narendra Modi.&nbsp;
2016 was also the 20th anniversary of the start of the Maoist conflict in 1996, and it was ten years after the end of the war. Nepali Times marked the anniversaries throughout the year with coverage of those who were caught up in the conflict to find out what had become of them: photographer Dinesh Shrestha published pictures of the Long March of Maoist leaders during the conflict, an editorial looked back at Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai photoshopping his own revolutionary past, how survivors and families of the victims coped with the grief, bereavement and suffering.&nbsp;
The year was also one in which Nepal took a Great Leap Forward in inclusive leadership: the country’s President, Chief Justice and Speaker of Parliament were all women. We have regressed since then, and former President Bidya Devi Bhandari has ignored critics to rejoin the political fray of the UML party.
The year saw the notorious rise and ignominious fall of Lokman Singh Karki, chieftain of the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Nepal’s most corrupt and ruthless bureaucrat was put in charge of the country’s anti-corruption agency.
Karki went on a full scale witch hunt, extorting and blackmailing businessmen, bureaucrats, civil society, lawyers, and the media. Himalmedia’s own publishers were jailed or left the country to escape arrest on trumped up charges by a man who came to be known as ‘Mr Lockman’.
Nepali Times translated a commentary from Setopati by Ameet Dhakal, which has lessons for today’s politicians:&nbsp;
‘Historically, whenever Nepal’s political class has failed to defend democracy, it has been the media that has had to come to the rescue. The head of the CIAA has tried with all his might to silence the media. He has overstepped his jurisdiction, and mobilised other agencies of government to gag the press … Why isn’t there a debate in Parliament about Karki’s anti-constitutional activities? Remember, Nepal’s political map will change either through rebellion or widespread hopelessness. Either way, it will sweep you away.’
By October, the very politicians who appointed Karki felt he was getting too big for his boots, and sacked him after threatening impeachment. The legacy of that tyranny can still be felt in Nepal: today we have mini-Lokmans populating all three levels of government. &nbsp;

2016

Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Thapa's candidacy in Sarlahi-4 has thrust this Madhes constituency into rare national focus. If Thapa wins and the NC emerges as the largest party, Sarlahi-4 will send Nepal's next prime minister to Parliament. But if he does not, Nepal’s grand old party will face the next years in the opposition to fight another day. There is a troubling paradox in Sarlahi-4 where the district bordering the Indian state of Bihar has been a battleground for national politicians with fierce electoral competition, all while remaining one of the region's most underserved and underdeveloped constituencies.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260305140344_069cbbc11e971a851b444866dee57f760c0cc611ed40bdf96c627e343e3c0485.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260305140344_069cbbc11e971a851b444866dee57f760c0cc611ed40bdf96c627e343e3c0485" data-rendition-name="original" width="1802" height="1276" loading="lazy" alt="Sarlahi-4 voting"> <figcaption>Photo: MADHES PAHARA MEDIA</figcaption> </figure>  Ever since Mahant Thakur split from NC in 2008 to form the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party, the district has seen rotating political alliances and fragmented votes. Yet, despite 18 years of candidates promising change irrigation schemes remain incomplete, market access for farmers has not improved, unemployment is high.&nbsp; On election day, voters here marked their ballots with fingers stained by dye from the Holi festival the day before. The road leading to Barathawa Bazar was deserted for the most part, except for some youth riding in motorcycles. This is where the high-profile contest between Gagan Thapa and RSP nominee Amresh Singh is being staged. Among the other aspirants is 27-year-old UML candidate Amnish Yadav, the son of former MP Shiv Pujan Yadav. The Yadavs are a political family with considerable caste influence in the constituency. In 2022 Yadav’s daughter Madhumala Yadav received over 14,000 votes here, ranking third overall. Yadav was voted MP from the Maoist party, but defected to the UML this time. His other son is the chair of Sarlahi’s Ramnagar Rural Municipality. Sarhali-4 has 121,012 voters, and the Yadav is banking on the 27,000-strong Yadav vote bank. Sarlahi-4 voter Avishek Sah told us he wanted his vote to go to a young nominee and not someone who has been MP thrice already, like Amresh Singh. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260305140344_527c5c2f9aa6a6c7e3bbdfbfe79fdafb0a0b56a62427e9ced86b924c6c563b10.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260305140344_527c5c2f9aa6a6c7e3bbdfbfe79fdafb0a0b56a62427e9ced86b924c6c563b10" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Sarlahi-4 voting"> <figcaption>Photo: AYUSHA CHALISE</figcaption> </figure>  To make local loyalties even more complicated, Amnish Yadav’s uncle, Harinder Yadav is an active NC member and walked side by side with Gagan Thapa during his door-to-door campaigns.&nbsp; The NC is betting on Thapa getting over 60% of the total votes. Amresh Singh’s tally could be limited to 10,000 votes — that too because of the nationwide RSP wave, and the popularity of its prime ministerial hopeful Balendra (Balen) Shah. “Amresh Singh lost his appeal when he played victim after he was denied a ticket by the NC in 2022,” Harinder Yadav says. Voters we spoke to here agreed with this assessment that Singh did not do much for the district once he got elected in the past, and being a part of the RSP seems to be his biggest asset. “The only reason I voted for Amresh Singh is because Balen is in RSP,” local voter Mahendra Gupta from Barathawa. &nbsp;“This is his last chance to return the people’s trust.”&nbsp; Gupta is aware of the institutional presence of the NC here. The party received the most votes in 2022 local elections, adding that the candidacy of someone as high-profile as Thapa is a positive sign for Sarlahi-4.&nbsp; Other voters like Ruby Gupta are rooting for both the NC and the RSP. “I will vote for Gagan and for Balen,” she says, adding that her FPTP vote will go to Thapa while her PR ballot would be for the RSP. RSP supporters are confident that their candidate will win big because even though many voters may not have openly voiced their support they still voted for the party and candidate. The Balen Wave was not limited to RSP voters, but also to UML candidate Yadav, who said in a gathering that he will be “the voters Balen” if they elect him. He touted his party’s track record in government, and largely campaigned on administrative efficiency, infrastructural expansion, and local service delivery. Amresh Singh ran on the RSP’s anti-establishment brand, promising to fight corruption, challenge traditional party politics, improve basic services such as education, health, jobs, and infrastructure, while pushing for stronger representation and development for Madhes.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260305140344_982df01801fa7d3532ca0555ecb8a0756e3223be3d93650e08ca82a312dc2ebd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260305140344_982df01801fa7d3532ca0555ecb8a0756e3223be3d93650e08ca82a312dc2ebd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Sarlahi-4 voting"> <figcaption>Photo:AYUSHA CHALISE</figcaption> </figure>  Singh’s rivalry with his NC competitor goes beyond the ballot— he allegedly blames Thapa for being denied the NC ticket in 2022, which led him to win the election from Sarlahi-4 as an independent. &nbsp; For his part, Gagan Thapa focused on a more pragmatic development agenda that includes upgrading roads and irrigation, improving schools and hospitals, supporting farmers, and creating employment opportunities with improved governance at the centre. He also promised to build an engineering college in the constituency.&nbsp; Thapa also promoted his own anti-establishment image within the NC, repeatedly reminding voters on the campaign trail that he represents the aspirations of the youth.&nbsp; On Thursday, as voting progressed, there were violent disruptions in two centres where voting was briefly halted. But Sarlahi district police spokesperson Saroj Rai told Nepali Times that there were no major problems. Police in collaboration with the Nepal Army sent the ballot papers to the district’s counting stations, where the votes are expected to be tallied through the night and the winner announced Friday morning.

Sarlahi-4 nervously watches ballot count

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Nepal Election live results

As this report is uploaded, the latest results in Nepal’s election show that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is headed for an even bigger sweep than most had predicted.
The RSP was leading by large margins in 49 of 165 constituencies, &nbsp;with the UML, NC and NCP trailing far behind. Prominent political figures from the old parties like K P Oli, Minwndra Prasad Rijal, Ishwar Pokhrel, Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Bimalendra Nidhi all seem headed for defeat.
It does look like the RSP’s bell election symbol is ringing right across Nepal — from cities to the remotest districts in the mountains and plains. The party’s blue colour is sweeping the land.
The Nepali people seem to have sent a clear message that they were throughly dissatisfied with the chronic failure of the three main parties to work in the national interest to create jobs and deliver development. It was also an expression of lingering outrage over the the 8 September massacre outside Parliament. &nbsp;
It now looks almost certain that Balendra Shah will get to be Nepal’s next, and youngest, prime minister. Hopefully he will be leading a cabinet of competent and honest technocrats. It remains to seen how the power equation between Shah and the RSP’s leader, Rabi Lamichhane will play out.
Lamichhane is out of jail on bail for fraud cases which he has called political vendetta by the previous regime. Both he and Shah are charismatic and ambitious. Their working relationship will determine Nepal's political stability and whether it can avoid the political cronyism of the past.
This election was not just about casting votes. It was about standing up to principles and a value system, and respecting the hopes and aspirations of Nepal’s youth. It to push for transparent government and against impunity — including for the gunning down of young Nepalis in cold blood.
<div class="embed-block"><iframe src="https://election-geo-dashboard.pages.dev/" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"> </iframe>Live election results as winners of candidates are announced.</div>
CAN DO MAN
Shah got mixed reviews as mayor. He was impulsive and ad hoc, but most people inKathmandu and beyond liked his can-do attitude and unconventional style which stood in sharp contract to the legacy leaders. Over his three year mayorship he showed more maturity and planning capacity.&nbsp;
But he always ran headlong into opposition from the federal government over his urban planning and other initiatives to make Kathmandu more liveable. Coming from a civil and structural engineering background, he was involved in building low-cost housing after the 2015 earthquake.
But his public persona is more tied to his irreverent rap lyrics that stood up for the marginalised underprivileged in society, while exposing the high-handedness and apathy of the state. But this also exposed contradictions because he also used his own municipal guards to beat and chase away street vendors and squatters.
But there is no doubt that a combination of the sharp messaging in his rap videos amplified by the algorithms of social media ignited Nepal’s youth to rise up. It was more about optics and emotion than policy and strategy.
He studied Kathmandu district for five years, visiting experts in every field before announcing his independent candidacy for mayor in 2022. Many like me in his own constitunecy did not know who he was and where he came from.
He is a year younger than my architect son, and I saw in him a reflection of my own son’s commitment to serving the nation. I voted for him to be mayor despite his sometimes erratic behaviour, which could be attributed to his youth.
The best sign of his strategic planning, which unsettled septuagenarian and octogenarian politicians, is the he did not grab the first easy option of becoming prime minister in September when GenZ activists offered him the post.&nbsp;
Joining RSP was a masterstroke, as was his challenge to Oli in Jhapa to project national branding. He needed a party platform and Lamichhane needed a popular prime ministerial persona since he himself could not hold the post.
Shah has shown the capacity to take risks when he believes the value justifies the action for the country. Now, he will have to show more strategic thinking on a national scale, as well as understand the delicate geopolitics of Nepal.&nbsp;
He must rise above the kind of crude social media posts that earned him followers on X, but did nothing to erase his erratic and impulsive image.&nbsp;
Some assume that behind his trademark RayBan shades is a closet dictator, and his past remarks about Hitler are still up on social media. He has in the past shown impatience with criticism, unleashing supporters on social media to troll detractors.&nbsp;
Even so, the public seems willing to place their hope on an educated young man with integrity and a proven record for planning at the helm. By tomorrow it will be clear whether the hope Nepalis have held has been fulfilled, and the coming years will show if the RSP will lead Nepalis to a better future.
The voters seem to have shown the door even to the NC despite the fact that under Gagan Thapa, the party had turned a new leaf. A strong government under Prime Minister Balendra Shah heading a carefully selected cabinet and a strong opposition of the NC, UML and other parties for check and balance may be just what we need for a stable Nepal.&nbsp;
Nepalis have collectively always shown maturity in elections. This time they have given a resounding endorsement for integrity and for good governance.

Bells ring all over Nepal

After Thursday’s election, Nepalis are in a wait-and-watch mode. The Election Commission says counting ballot papers will be expedited this time, and the results for the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) will start being declared within days. In 2022, it took three weeks for the final results to be tallied.&nbsp;
But winning an election is only half the challenge for the parties, forming a government under parliamentary politics is like a complicated mathematical equation.&nbsp;
In 2022, the Nepali Congress (NC) emerged as the biggest party, winning 89 seats. But the UML with 78 seats and the Maoists with 32 formed a minority government. In fact, Sher Bahadur Deuba did not become PM then despite leading the biggest party in Parliament.
This time, there is an unmistakeable Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) wave led by its prime ministerial candidate, Balendra Shah. Besides his own popularity, Shah represents change which most Nepalis are clamouring for after decades of corrupt and feckless coalitions that did not deliver.&nbsp;
The past months of campaigning has seen massive youth engagement on social media through memes, AI clips, and viral images. Digital content that appeals to emotion rather than policy debate between candidates shape electoral outcomes in Nepal and elsewhere. &nbsp;
Shah represents GenZ aspirations, and was their candidate for prime minister. It was only when he declined that Sushila Karki was nominated. None of the political parties in the recent past -- new, old, or revolutionary — have won enough seats to go it alone.&nbsp;
The most recent majority government was formed by the short-lived Communist Party of Nepal after the UML-Maoist merger in 2022. But that rare two-thirds majority collapsed after a power struggle between K P Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The only party to have won a majority was the NC in the 1991 and 1999 elections. But it is near impossible for it to repeat this success now, even with Gagan Thapa's rebranding of the party.&nbsp;
We have compiled these possible scenarios for election outcome in order of likelihood:
RSP gets a majority
RSP hits the magic 138 to form a government entirely on its own. Balendra Shah wins Jhapa-5, and becomes the new prime minister at 35, the youngest ever to hold the office in Nepal. But danger lurks: there could be a personality clash between Shah and Lamichhane who are both equally ambitious. History could repeat itself.&nbsp;
RSP wins but does not get a majority
RSP is likely to sweep the most votes, but what if it does not secure enough seats for a majority? It would need a coalition partner and Nepali Communist Party (NCP) under Pushpa Kamal Dahal could fit the bill, but only if it has the numbers. The RSP is not likely to team up with the UML or NC.
The NCP is relatively untainted by the 8 September events, and also has former UML defectors like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Bhim Rawal who could bag their rural vote banks. After all, there are no permanent foes in politics. If the royalist RPP and Tarai-based Janata Samajwadi have enough seats, those could be options for the RSP. &nbsp;
NC is second
The NC under the new leadership of Gagan Thapa could become the second biggest force and form a government with RSP in a power-sharing deal with Shah. This would be the most stable scenario since the RSP and NC have competent and idealistic young technocrats. Thapa himself embodies a strong combination of both old and new politics to navigate the system for more efficient government. But then Thapa and the RSP's Rabi Lamichhane do not get along.
NC and NCP form a majority
If the NC becomes the largest party but not by a big margin, it could join up with the NCP and Ujyalo. Teaming up with the UML would likely face backlash with the party and outside. If Gagan Thapa becomes prime minister he will face internal pressure from both Deuba loyalists. Same old story.
Minority coalition of NC, UML and NCP
RSP becomes the first party but does not get a majority, paving the way for the three legacy parties to cobble together a minority government. While this is possible in Nepal’s parliamentary system, such a scenario is likely to lead to more instability and dissatisfaction among young Nepalis demanding change, and even trigger street unrest. &nbsp;