The Rastriya Swatantra Party and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah have reached what they describe as a “broad unity” in a major political realignment ahead of the upcoming House of Representatives elections.

Under the agreement finalised early Sunday, Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane will continue as the party’s central chairman, while Shah will be presented as the party’s parliamentary leader after the elections and its prime ministerial candidate.

The two sides had been in talks on cooperation and unity for weeks. Discussions intensified from last Monday, with Lamichhane and Shah holding a series of formal and informal meetings. The agreement followed detailed deliberations on a shared political vision, leadership arrangement and future course of action of the unified party.

According to the agreement document, both sides have committed to addressing public aspirations by strengthening good governance within a pluralistic democratic system, guided by an open and socially just economic framework. It also underscores a shared resolve to institutionalise voices raised through various public movements against corruption and misgovernance.

The document makes specific reference to youth-led movements, including the Gen Z protests held on September 8 and 9, which it says reflected wider public frustration with prevailing political practices. The parties have pledged to translate such demands into concrete political action.

Following the agreement, the party’s organisational structure will be expanded and strengthened. The document states that capable, inclusive and publicly credible youth activists, along with experienced professionals and experts, will be entrusted with responsibilities within the party.

The agreement further reiterates that the Rastriya Swatantra Party’s core principles, leadership structure and election symbol, the bell, will remain unchanged. It also invites other reform-oriented and responsible political forces, groups and individuals to rally around the party under this framework.

The RSP had emerged as the fourth largest political force, winning 21 seats in the dissolved House of Representatives within a year of its establishment.