The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which secured a strong performance in Nepal’s recent parliamentary elections, is preparing to amend its party statute to appoint senior leader Balen Shah as the parliamentary party leader. The party had earlier declared Shah its prime ministerial candidate before the elections.
According to RSP joint spokesperson Pratibha Rawal, the party believes that since Shah was presented to voters as the prime ministerial candidate, it would be appropriate for him to lead the party in Parliament as well. To facilitate this, certain provisions in the party’s statute will need to be revised.
Currently, Article 66 of the party’s statute outlines the process for selecting the parliamentary party leader. The existing rule states that candidates chosen for the federal election—both proportional and direct—may contest in an internal election to determine the parliamentary leader.
The statute also allows all general members of the party to vote in the leadership election. RSP leaders say this provision may be amended to align the leadership selection with the party’s earlier decision to nominate Shah as its prime ministerial candidate.
Meanwhile, the party is also preparing to finalize its proportional representation candidates. Party chair Rabi Lamichhane has reportedly been recovering at home due to health issues, which have delayed formal meetings. In the House of Representatives election held on February 21, RSP won 182 seats—125 through the first-past-the-post system and 57 through proportional representation—just two seats short of a two-thirds majority.