December 28, Kathmandu – With the aim of contesting the upcoming elections as a united front, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Ravi Lamichhane and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen) have reached a seven-point agreement.

The two leaders signed the agreement early Sunday morning.

Key points of the deal include retaining the existing name Rastriya Swatantra Party after the merger, with Lamichhane continuing as party chairman, while Balen will be the parliamentary party leader and the candidate for prime minister following the upcoming House of Representatives elections.

Following the agreement with Balen, Ravi Lamichhane posted on Facebook: “Consensus should be what the country needs, not what leaders want.”

The agreement contains a total of seven points, as follows:

Agreement on ‘Broad Unity’ between Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Balendra Shah

Recognizing the imperative need for cooperation among all cultured and reform-oriented political forces to establish good governance within a pluralistic democratic system based on a liberal economy with social justice, in order to address the aspirations of citizens; Keeping in inspiring memory the sacrifices of martyrs and the injured from various movements, including the Gen Z movement of September 8-9, 2025, and other people’s movements in different periods; Rastriya Swatantra Party (First Party) and Mr. Balendra Shah (Second Party), sharing a common resolve, have reached the following agreement to achieve the shared goal of national service through collaboration of like-minded forces:

1. Taking ownership of the youth movement against corruption and misgovernance, and committing to appropriately address the demands of the injured and martyrs’ families;
2. Committing to the honest implementation of a roadmap to elevate Nepal to a respectable middle-income nation within the next decade through deep policy, institutional, and structural reforms for economic-social progress and cultured political practice;
3. After the broad unity between the First Party and the Second Party, the established political party shall be named “Rastriya Swatantra Party”, with the flag retaining the existing blue background featuring a white circle in the center with a blue bell shape, the election symbol ‘Bell’, and the central office located in the Kathmandu Valley;
4. Ravi Lamichhane shall remain the Central Chairman of Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Balendra Shah shall be the leader of the parliamentary party and the candidate for future prime minister after the upcoming House of Representatives elections;
5. After the broad unity, to make the party’s organizational structure more capable and expansive, responsibilities shall be assigned to young activists and experienced experts on the basis of merit, inclusiveness, and public image;
6. Updating the documents related to Rastriya Swatantra Party at the Election Commission as per this agreement;
7. Calling upon other cultured and reform-oriented alternative political forces, groups, and individuals to rally under the principles, leadership, and election symbol ‘Bell’ of Rastriya Swatantra Party to advance the issues of democratic good governance, prosperity, and social justice.

Ravi Lamichhane Balendra Shah

December 28, 2025, Kathmandu