Rabi Lamichhane stands as a vivid example of how a political leader can win the trust of voters and, once that trust is earned, how it can be sustained again and again over time. There is a saying that when destiny favors someone, even milk carried in a bamboo basket will not spill. Perhaps it had already been written in Rabi Lamichhane’s destiny that one day he would lead this country. But reaching this point was far from easy. To achieve this result, he had to go through extremely difficult tests. Time repeatedly placed him at crossroads that would have been very hard for ordinary people like us to overcome. Yet Rabi Lamichhane faced every challenge with a calm smile, and today the result is clear: within just five years he has been elected from Chitwan-2 for the third time with a massive margin.
From Television Journalist to National Figure
After returning from the United States, Rabi Lamichhane gained public recognition through the television program “Sidha Kura Janata Sanga” on News24. At that time only a limited number of people in Nepal knew him. Soon afterward he was arrested in connection with the abetment-to-suicide case of his colleague Shaligram Pudasaini. Coincidentally, Pudasaini’s death had taken place in Chitwan. His opponents tried their best to ensure that Rabi would face life imprisonment. But the situation turned out exactly the opposite. Before that incident only a small section of people knew Rabi Lamichhane, but after the case people across the country began to recognize him. From that moment a deep connection formed between Rabi and the people of Chitwan.
The Political Wave Before the Elections
Soon afterward the country moved toward local elections. Today many people say that the victories of independent candidates such as Balen Shah, Harka Sampang and Gopal Hamal in the 2079 local elections created a wave of independent politics in Nepal. But the truth is not limited to that alone. In reality, Rabi Lamichhane was among the first to demonstrate that media and journalists in this country are not only meant to deliver news. Through the power of the camera they can question those in power and awaken citizens. His bold style of questioning gradually created a sense among people that the political establishment should be challenged. That awareness planted the seed of change, and later figures like Balen Shah, Harka Sampang and Gopal Hamal helped nurture that seed during the local elections.
The Historic Rise of the Rastriya Swatantra Party
Later in the month of Mangsir, Nepal held parliamentary elections. Competing against powerful and well-established parties such as Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre, the Rastriya Swatantra Party entered Parliament with 20 seats largely on the strength of Rabi Lamichhane’s personal brand. For a party that had existed for only three months, winning 20 seats was historic. In that election, the people of Chitwan, who had developed a connection with him after the Pudasaini case, gave Rabi Lamichhane 49,300 votes — the highest at that time — raising the flag of political change.
Early Political Decisions and Consequences
After entering Parliament, however, Rabi Lamichhane made two significant political mistakes. The first was that instead of honoring the public mandate to strengthen his party and serve as a strong opposition for five years, he joined the government together with UML and Maoists. But destiny did not support that path. Perhaps Rabi Lamichhane’s fate was not to rule through alliances but one day to lead a government with his own majority. Within just one month of becoming Home Minister, the citizenship controversy forced him to lose both his ministerial position and his parliamentary seat. This triggered a by-election in Chitwan. Many people believed that voters there would reduce their support for him. But when the results came out, it became clear that Rabi Lamichhane had already secured a permanent place in the hearts of the voters of Chitwan-2. Increasing his previous tally by nearly five thousand votes, he won the by-election with 54,176 votes and re-entered Parliament, bringing along Swarnim Wagle and increasing the party’s presence from 20 to 21 seats.
Political Conflicts and Growing Challenges
However, bringing Swarnim Wagle into the party later became a complicated decision. Rabi’s second major mistake was confronting the Nepali Congress — a party with 89 seats — while holding only 21 seats himself when he became Home Minister for the second time. During that period his political focus turned toward Arzu Rana, the wife of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, and he attempted to push legal action against her. Once this became clear, UML and Congress quickly formed an alliance, the Prachanda government collapsed, and Rabi Lamichhane was removed from power.
A Period of Legal Battles
After that moment a difficult phase began for him. His conflict with Nepali Congress developed on two levels. One involved Arzu Rana directly, while the second involved Gagan Thapa, who was then the party’s general secretary and later became its president. Swarnim Wagle had been one of the strongest intellectual pillars of Gagan Thapa’s political team, and when he joined RSP tensions intensified. Around the same time cooperative fraud cases surfaced across the country, and the UML-Congress government framed the narrative in such a way that Rabi Lamichhane was deeply implicated. Multiple legal cases were filed against him, creating the impression that he alone had been responsible for cooperative fraud across Nepal. Even his ancestral property was examined under money-laundering allegations, and additional organized crime charges were added to prevent him from returning to Parliament. Eventually he spent a year in prison.
Public Support and Political Realignment
But time had other plans. A signature campaign began in support of Rabi Lamichhane, and Nepalis both inside the country and abroad signed petitions and even raised funds to support him. Around the same period the country witnessed the Gen-Z movement in which 76 people lost their lives. However, the political benefit of that movement did not go to RSP because the central figure of the movement was Balen Shah. Groups close to Balen strongly criticized Rabi Lamichhane during that period. Later efforts were made to weaken RSP further through internal splits, and influential leaders such as Sumana Shrestha and Santosh Pariyar left the party. Many analysts predicted that Rabi Lamichhane and the Rastriya Swatantra Party were finished.
The Political Landscape Changes Again
But events began to change once again. At the same time some political leaders started lobbying for Balen Shah to join a party, while CPN-UML tried to present itself as the strongest opponent of the Gen-Z movement. Under the leadership of Mahesh Basnet, UML became highly active and many people began to believe that UML would form the next government after the election. Amid these developments, second-tier leaders within RSP proposed cooperation, and at the same time the High Court granted bail to Rabi Lamichhane. A new narrative began spreading across the country: if Balen Shah and RSP did not unite, their political future could be at risk. Eventually many groups that had once criticized Rabi Lamichhane became ready to cooperate with RSP.
The Current Election and the Road Ahead
The new political environment strengthened the Rastriya Swatantra Party, and in the current election voters supported the party so strongly that it is now approaching a two-thirds majority. Within just five years, Rabi Lamichhane has now been elected from Chitwan three times. In this election he received 54,402 votes. Even if RSP eventually secures a two-thirds majority, Rabi Lamichhane’s political test is far from over. He still needs to clear the allegations related to cooperative fraud and ensure justice for the millions of cooperative victims. He must also repay the trust of the people of Chitwan who elected him three times within five years despite limited development in the constituency. Over the next five years he will also have to manage political figures ranging from the unpredictable Balen Shah to the outspoken Harka Sampang.
Ultimately, the real challenge remains the same: Nepal must be built. As the president of his party, the responsibility of building the country now rests heavily on the shoulders of Rabi Lamichhane. What destiny ultimately holds will only become clear with time.
