Balen Shah's Increased Political Activity Post-Resignation Sparks Discussion Amid Ravi Lamichhane's Legal Woes

Kathmandu. Balendra (Balen) Shah's political engagement has intensified since becoming a senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). After resigning as the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Magh 4, Balen assumed office at the RSP central office, the Ghantighar in Banasthali. Upon entering the Ghantighar, he received a grand welcome from well-wishers, supporters, and RSP leaders and cadres.

Amidst an overwhelming crowd cheering 'Hai Hai' for Balen, Chairman Rabi Lamichhane, who was beside him, seemed overshadowed. Following a brief central committee meeting, Balen, along with Chairman Ravi, Vice Chairman Dol Prasad Aryal, Spokesperson Manish Jha, and other top leaders, left for Janakpur that evening.

They had traveled to the Madhes region to address a public rally focused on the upcoming House of Representatives elections scheduled for Falgun 21. On Magh 5, Balen and Ravi appeared together on stage in Janakpurdham's Tirhutiyagachhi, using Madhesi dialect and attire.

In the seven-point agreement reached with the Balen faction on Poush 13, the RSP had put him forward as the future Prime Ministerial candidate. The RSP appears to be advancing with a strategy to influence the Madhes mandate by proposing Balen, whose ancestral home is in Mahottari, as the Prime Ministerial candidate. Because a person of Madhesi origin was put forward as the future Prime Minister, Balen's craze in Janakpur seemed to have significantly increased. People from all eight districts of the Madhes region came to Janakpur to see him.

His balanced speech in the Maithili language at the rally garnered national attention. However, Chairman Ravi, who spoke as the chief guest at the same rally, has since been out of the spotlight.

On Magh 6, Balen traveled to Damak to file his nomination for the elections. Balen is currently in the news for contesting from Jhapa-5, the traditional constituency of former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli. On the day of filing his candidacy, a large crowd spontaneously gathered from eastern districts to see him.

While a public surge was visible in favor of senior leader Balen, Chairman Ravi was at Parsa District Court for the hearing of the cooperative fraud case. On the very day of filing his candidacy, the court demanded a deposit of one crore rupees from Ravi. As the court procedures would take time, he filed his candidacy for Chitwan-2 through a proxy (warisnama).

Although the then-government had filed cases against him for cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering, the current government is facilitating the withdrawal of the organized crime and money laundering cases through the Attorney General's office. Nevertheless, a writ petition has also been filed in the Supreme Court against this move.

Cases against Ravi are pending in the courts of Kathmandu, Chitwan, Kaski, Rupandehi, and Parsa districts. For pretrial detention in one of those cases, he spent eight months in jail and was released in Mangsir after posting the bail amount ordered by the Butwal bench of the High Court.

Meanwhile, Balen, who appears free after resigning from the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, has embarked on an East-West tour. After filing his candidacy, he visited eastern districts including Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, and Sankhuwasabha, returned to Kathmandu, and on Sunday, held discussions with party leaders and candidates at Kumar Ben's residence in Lalitpur. He is currently on a Far West tour.

There is talk that while Ravi held the sole craze within the party, Balen's emergence has started to overshadow him. However, leader Shishir Khanal states that it is natural for the prospective Prime Ministerial candidate to tour the country. He asserts that Ravi is not overshadowed but is unable to appear in public rallies due to election code of conduct. He argues that Ravi has not had time for social activities because he has to appear in court for hearings in five districts.

"Balenji is our candidate for the future Prime Minister. For that, he is touring the country. Naturally, there will be a craze when one is a candidate for Prime Minister," Khanal told Ratopati, "This does not mean Ravi has gone underground. The election code of conduct prevents him from participating in large rallies or house-to-house campaigns. Moreover, he has cases pending in five courts. Internal complications are also consuming his time."

This time, the RSP has fielded candidates in 164 constituencies. Party leaders claim that individuals with significant social popularity were prioritized in candidate selection. "Celebrities" and popular faces have also been included in the closed list for proportional representation. Claiming that dissatisfaction with the country arose due to old political parties and their leadership, Ravi established the RSP in Ashadh 2079 as an alternative political force. Having entered the elections just five months after forming the party, the RSP won 21 seats with 11.30 lakh proportional votes in the previous election.

The upcoming House of Representatives election is viewed as a 'referendum' between new and old parties. UML, which lost power due to the 'Gen Z' rebellion, interprets this election as a fight between nation-building and destruction. There is significant interest in how the power balance within the RSP will evolve after the election. According to RSP leaders, Ravi and Balen currently share the same mission: securing a majority for the party.

However, many are keen to see how the RSP will proceed if the results are not as expected, given that Balen, the prospective PM candidate, is contesting from the constituency where influential leader Oli has held sway since 2048 BS, and Ravi is entangled in legal complications due to his cases. The extent to which the Ravi-Balen chemistry, built on populism rather than the party's policies, ideals, principles, and ideology, can keep the party united is also a topic of discussion.

In Ravi's absence, Vice Chairman DP Aryal has taken on the role of the election commander. He argues that the current situation should not be interpreted as Ravi being sidelined or Balen's rise while the entire party is engaged in the election campaign.

"As per the election code of conduct, Ravi has not been participating in large public meetings lately. He is active in every party activity," Aryal said, "He has issues with court cases; he must attend to those as well. He is engaged in party activities while facing all these difficult circumstances. We will step up our activities after Falgun 4."