Nepal witnessed history earlier this month when the country’s youngest political party Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) snatched a landslide victory in the general elections on 5 March. The elections also led to the emergence of new political figures in Nepal’s fraught political landscape – Balendra Shah, the former mayor of Kathmandu and an ex-rapper, and Rabi Lamichhane, a former television host and RSP chairman.
Speaking exclusively to StratNews Global, Manjeev Singh Puri, former Ambassador of India to Nepal (2017-19), said this is the time India and Nepal can reset the bilateral relationship after it underwent significant upheaval in the last seven-eight years.
“Nepal is for India the most important relationship for the world to judge where India is today,” he said, adding that “Obviously, our relationship with the United States and China matters a lot for a large country like India. But even for them to see how you are, it’s your relationship in the neighborhood that matters.”
“They (US, China and others) see Bangladesh and Pakistan and they know there’s a history and history can’t be changed … But Sri Lanka and Nepal is where it is important for India to have a very good relationship. Therefore, in my understanding Nepal is a nation of particular interest to us for our own interests.”
India and Nepal share a complex bilateral relationship marked by deep cultural and historical connections, yet it is frequently challenged by several persistent issues.
Key problems include unresolved border disputes, particularly concerning Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh in Uttarakhand, and Susta in West Champaran district of Bihar (although administered by Nepal as part of Lumbini province).
Also Nepal’s desire to revise or abrogate the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with India. Economic imbalances, water resource management, and a growing trust deficit exacerbated by perceived Indian political interference and China’s increasing influence, further strained these ties.
“I believe one shouldn’t conflate what you do in electoral politics with what you do when you are in government … The Nepalese I don’t think most of them even know what’s happened. This is the politics of Kathmandu. Now that it’s serious there should be no doubt about it at all. That it shouldn’t have been wrecked up and brought to this level by Mr. KP Sharma Oli, there’s no doubt in my mind that he shouldn’t have done it and the cascading impact… This is the nature of Nepali politics,” added Puri.
In May 2020, Nepal officially updated its political map to include the strategically important areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura (spanning approx. 335 square kilometers) as part of its sovereign territory. The map change passed through Parliament, modifying the national emblem and Constitution. This area is under Indian control and therefore it triggered a diplomatic row.
“Hopefully the younger generation will not be grown up in that milieu that they will do anything for the sake of playing into power. They’ve seen better times. They’ve seen changed times. Let’s try and build relationships. Many of the divergences come closer when you converge much more,” said the veteran diplomat.
Generational Shift
In September 2025, Nepal experienced a massive youth-led uprising known as the Gen-Z Revolt, which led to the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and a complete overhaul of the country’s political leadership. Many see Shah and Lamichhane victories as a direct outcome of the 2025 youth revolt.
“Nepal has seen democracy growing in the country by leaps and bounds… It’s a new society trying to discover itself in the current elections. The general prognosis of everyone was, in the run-up to the election, that the RSP will do well – better than others. But nobody expected that it will be a landslide victory,” Puri said.
He said, by voting for RSP in such large numbers, people of Nepal have clearly indicated that they “need change”.
“The unknown have won and so many people simply said in a sense that we need change and we are willing to trust the new generation and not the old ones anymore … Now let’s see what they can deliver which is a very not an easy task,” he added.
Puri underscored that Nepal is undergoing “a generational shift. Therefore the pursuance of Nepali interest may be different from the way we look at it, I don’t think those things will change. Of course you have newer actors and so they will act differently.”
