With Nepalis watching with interest how the country’s politics is being reshaped in the post Gen Z People’s Movement, the general scenario is slowly emerging with a focused message: change in old approach and style. New faces such as Balen Shah, Rabi Lamichhane, Kulman Ghising and Rima Bishwakarma have already been the talk of the town with their fresh tone that offers a charming alternative to what Deuba, Oli and Prachanda have pursued over the years. As they go on presenting their stand for the forthcoming polls in various parts of the country, voters will have a great choice to make: go for old and worn out hands of politics or decide on the fresh new ones. Three of them are quite new comers for poll matters and one – Rabi – is well seasoned in electoral competition – winning same parliamentary seat twice in a row. All four pledge to make a difference in performance while in power – concentrating on service to people, development and the broad cause of democracy. Their offer contrasts with the much repeated vows of the old trio: they go for present and future generations and the old politicos want to show their old time contribution and sacrifice as their political capital to re-earn public trust. The new ones openly champion the cause of the Gen Z revolution through various ways while the old ones have not been able to justify their politics of the past two decades. The old leaders’ failure to deliver service to the people and weakness in steering political power towards the benefit of ordinary citizens could emerge as a very thorny issue as campaign for polls will move forward intensively. If they cannot promote their parties’ Gen Z youths or fresh candidates for the polls they could encounter a very heavy loss. Repeating old leaders who got several opportunities in the past in polls this time could prove to be a blunder for them. It could cost them heavily. The new ones will also face a challenge regarding explanation of their basic political philosophy, economic policies and social approach and way of delivering service to the people once they are elected to power. If they cannot perform well in this regard, they may also face some questioning from the voters in public forums. The other political parties will have their own tone and style as they approach voters for support. Some of them have already felt lost and confused amidst the heat created by the new faces in their race for March 5 election. While a clear cut image for pre-poll politics cannot be worked out at the moment because of the reality behind their processing and formation, it could be firmly stated that the parliamentary poll in March, 2026 will have a distinct feature that could have lasting impact in reshaping Nepali politics for future.
