byPal is once again standing on the threshold of national elections. These elections, to be held on March 5, became necessary after the political turmoil when the youth rebellion reached its peak in September 2025 and the KP Sharma Oli government fell. The last general election in the Himalayan nation of Nepal was held in the year 2022 and the next election was generally proposed for 2027. But after the dissolution of Parliament last year, the election process was started under the supervision of the interim government formed under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. This time the election contest is going to be very interesting in this Hindu-majority country with a population of about 2.9 crores. Four former prime ministers are set to contest the elections, while three sitting mayors are also hoping to try their political luck. Ousted former Prime Minister and Nepal Communist Party (UML) leader KP Sharma Oli will contest from Jhapa-5 parliamentary seat. He will face former Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Balendra Shah, who recently resigned from the post of mayor and joined the Rashtriya Swatantra Party. Engineer-turned-rapper and then politician Balendra Shah was among the prominent faces of the anti-government movements last year. Local political analysts believe that this contest will not be easy for Oli, who has been Prime Minister four times. Oli had recently alleged that some foreign forces were behind the toppling of his government in Kathmandu, which instigated Nepali citizens. They claim that the rebellion in which 77 civilians died and government and private property worth about 84 billion Nepali rupees was damaged, was not spontaneous but planned. He also said that after Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Nepal was also targeted by elements destabilizing democracy in South Asia. Oli has on various occasions made anti-India comments and criticized New Delhi’s foreign policy towards Nepal—which also shares borders with Tibet (now under China).
Other former prime ministers contesting in this election include Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) president Pushpakamal Dahal alias Prachanda, Progressive Democratic Party’s Baburam Bhattarai and Nepali Communist Party’s Madhav Kumar Nepal. However, two former prime ministers—Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress and Jhala Nath Khanal of the NCP—have decided not to contest the elections. Deuba had to stay away from electoral politics due to divisions within the party. Apart from Balendra Shah, those who entered electoral politics from the post of Mayor also include Dharan Sub-Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Harka Sampang and Bharatpur Municipal Corporation Mayor Renu Dahal.
It is noteworthy that Renu Dahal is the daughter of Maoist movement leader Prachanda. Staunch communist leader Prachanda played a decisive role in ending Nepal’s centuries-old Hindu monarchy in 2008. Nepal’s last king Gyanendra Shah, who is now living like a common citizen, has recently made sharp comments on the foreign policy of the Nepalese political leadership. Addressing the nation on the occasion of the 304th birth anniversary of his ancestor Prithvi Narayan Shah and National Unity Day, the former king said that in the last two decades, the political leadership has continuously plunged the country into crisis and pursued an unbalanced foreign policy against national interests.
Meanwhile, India has been continuously providing electoral assistance at the request of the Government of Nepal and various political parties. Recently, India, the world’s largest democracy, handed over more than 60 vehicles and other materials to Kathmandu for election preparations. Nepal’s Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal formally accepted this assistance from Indian diplomat Rakesh Pandey. According to leading Nepali daily The Kathmandu Post, Minister Aryal thanked India for this cooperation, saying that it reflects the depth of trust and friendship between the two neighboring countries. It is noteworthy that India has been providing election assistance to Nepal since 2008 and this time there is a plan to provide more than 600 vehicles.
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