Rastriya Swatantra Party Maintains Popularity Amidst Government Tenure, Poll Shows

Kathmandu. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has been in government for five months and seventeen days. According to a poll conducted by Ratopati one year after the Genji movement, the popularity of the ruling party RSP remains intact. The poll shows that among the six parties represented in the House of Representatives, RSP received 66.6 percent of the votes. Traditional parties Nepali Congress received 12.9 percent, CPN-UML received 11.9 percent, and the Nepali Communist Party received 4.4 percent of the votes. Similarly, 44.2 percent of people responded that the work of the government led by Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah is 'very good'. In the poll, 39.5 percent rated the government's working style as 'average' and 16.3 percent voted that it is 'not good'. According to the poll, the general public's trust in RSP and the government remains intact.

The Genji movement, organized by the Genji generation on August 23 last year against corruption and mismanagement, received moral support from RSP. The movement, which claimed 76 lives, not only toppled the then government led by KP Sharma Oli but also destroyed state assets including Singha Durbar, the Supreme Court, and the Parliament building. In the special circumstances after the state's collapse, RSP won 66 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives election held on February 21. In the proportional representation category, RSP received 15.185 million votes, or 47.84 percent of the popular vote.