
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s old political order collapsed on Friday as a Balen Shah-led wave powered Rastriya Swatantra Party to either win or establish substantial leads in at least 115 of 165 first-past-the-post (FPTP) seats, turning the parliamentary election after the Sept 2025 Gen Z uprising into a rout of the establishment.
Former PMs KP Sharma Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal were staring at major upsets as results trickled in. Gagan Thapa of the Nepali Congress was trailing despite emerging as the party’s new face after ousting five-time PM Sher Bahadur Deuba to lead the organisation. Only Pushpa Kamal Dahal, or Prachanda, looked set to survive from the old guard. Even there, the verdict carried a sting: his daughter, Renu Dahal, was trailing in Chitwan.