Balendra Shah
Where do I begin? Today, this General Convention is fundamentally about speaking on party matters — how to strengthen the party, how to make it more powerful. Our party began with a small ambition, a small wish, a burning desire to build a better country. Now, as we arrive at the first day of this General Convention, we must talk about how to bring this party — which began as a movement, as an emotion — into an institutionalized and established form. The central question must be: how do we unite the party?
A car driving on an expressway only brakes when it reaches its destination. There is no need to brake before reaching the destination — and our car is not out of control; the conditions are also working in our favor.
That is why I want to sincerely thank those who have shown concern for our party and our government. Concern is a good thing. People’s votes are like the wind — sometimes blowing this way, sometimes that way — and you have expressed worry about that. But we have not created any wind; we have brought a flood that redirected the river.
Once a river returns to its straight and rightful course, it continues to flow along that same path. It does not shift left, right, north, south, east, or west like the wind. So I extend my deepest gratitude to those who are concerned. Please continue to guide us and keep offering us that concern.
A very dear friend of mine — who is no longer with us (referring to rapper Yama Buddha) — used to tell me when I was doing music: “Balen, it is easy to step into the spotlight, but maintaining that spotlight is always difficult.”
Our respected leaders here today have expressed a similar concern. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has entered the spotlight, has won a two-thirds majority — and maintaining that will be difficult. But what I want to say to all of you is this: we did not bring ourselves into the spotlight — we brought the people into it. And the people were always in the spotlight, are in the spotlight, and will remain in the spotlight. The light we provide is not for the leaders. Our sun does not shine only on leaders — our sun illuminates the people. That is why the people will always remain at the forefront.
Corruption control and row over CIAA
Today, speaking specifically about the party — what is our party’s ideology? Is it left, right, or center? There is no need to worry about that. Our party is a development-oriented party — a party that develops, a party that works. Our party is a party that moves forward. We do not seek revenge or go looking for excuses by digging up old matters. If excuses need to be found, they will be found as we move forward — but only in specific cases. If in recent days there have been instances of fraud, exploitation of government property, or misuse of public funds, then it absolutely becomes necessary to look for justification — and we will do so.
In pursuing that accountability — if it takes five hours of questioning and consultation with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), we will not just do five hours, we will do five years. We will sit with the CIAA for five full years if needed. There is no need to worry about that. However, we do not break rules; we work within the rules and will not go beyond them.
Looking at social media and other media outlets, things may appear somewhat out of control — but that is only a scenario. Everything is under control; nothing has gone out of control. There is no need to worry on any other matters.
Kalapani, Lipulekh issue
Concern was also raised about the border issue. When we speak about border issues with any country, they naturally raise their objections. They (India) did raise objections, and I was surprised. Fine — if you have evidence, bring it. We have our evidence. We have evidence regarding Kalapani and Lipulekh. And to obtain that evidence, if it requires going back to the records from the British colonial era, we are ready to do that — but we are not seeking to make England a mediator. We will resolve this directly by talking with our neighbors ourselves. We have the evidence and we will present it. This is what was said — there should be no suspicion about it. No one should doubt my nationalism — no one at all.
RSP’s General Convention
And speaking specifically about the party — the General Convention is underway today, tomorrow, and the day after. Elections will be held tomorrow. In past conventions of this party, one habit that had somewhat crept in and corrupted our culture was factionalism — forming groups and sub-groups. Let me be clear to all of you here — whether you are convention delegates, those sitting here hoping to become Central Committee Members (CCM), or those hoping to become office-bearers — to become a good leader, a good politician, you must win the trust and love of the people. The love of a faction is not enough.
So please do not chase after building groups. Do not plant such seeds now, only to have to uproot them later when they grow into trees that split the party from within. Let us not engage in planting such seeds or nurturing such trees — we must learn this lesson from the mistakes of our predecessors.
And one more thing I want to say — we are a new party, defined by new thinking. We do not go to every election carrying the same old agenda. We have pledged to bring good governance, we have carried the agenda of good governance, we have said we will resolve the squatter problem — and we will resolve the squatter problem in this very term, we will resolve the cooperative crisis in this very term. We will not go to the next election carrying these same agendas. We will go to the next election with new agendas.
Regarding tomorrow’s and the day after’s elections — some may want to become Central Committee Members, some may want to become office-bearers. If you succeed, that is wonderful. But if you do not, there is no need for worry — because ours is not a coalition government, it is a single-party government. And what must be understood about a single-party government is this: every minister is the Prime Minister, every parliamentarian is the Prime Minister, every office-bearer is the Prime Minister, every Central Committee Member is the Prime Minister, every worker is the Prime Minister, every supporter is the Prime Minister.
If tomorrow you do not win a Central Committee seat but feel “if I had been a CCM, I would have done this” — come forward and say it, tell the party. If you could not become a parliamentarian but feel “if I had been an MP, I would have done this” — bring it forward. Whatever you wish to do, this party will do it, this government will do it. And I want to once again urge our party office-bearers, government members, and Central Committee Members who have come from various districts — please connect with the people and make them feel that they and the government are one and the same.
Shall I continue? What shall we do? It’s alright. Just as there is always another day to speak, let us leave the remaining remarks to our Party Chairperson (Rabi Lamichhane). And one final thing I want to say to all of you — the party must be kept together; the party must remain united.
Today, tomorrow, and the day after — let us think about the party. And for the five years that follow — let us think about the country. Thank you very much.
Full text of the address delivered by Prime Minister and Senior Leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Balendra Shah, at the inaugural session of the party’s First National General Convention held in Bharatpur, Chitwan on June 21, 2026.
