Kathmandu
Monday, June 15, 2026
RSP, which was limited to zero direct seats and 72,000 proportional votes in Madhesh Province in the 2022 election, has now won 30 direct seats and 57% of proportional votes in the province
In the general election held on March 5, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) secured 182 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives. Winning 125 seats under the first-past-the-post system and 57 proportional representation seats, the party fell just two seats short of a two-thirds majority. In the two elections held after the constitution was promulgated in 2015, no party had managed to generate such a public wave.
RSP Votes Received — By Province (Proportional Votes)
| Province | Votes | Vote % |
| Karnali | 133,749 | 24.11% |
| Koshi | 853,183 | 42.63% |
| Gandaki | 525,635 | 51.57% |
| Bagmati | 1,119,270 | 51.05% |
| Madhesh | 1,300,468 | 57.33% |
| Lumbini | 933,352 | 47.71% |
| Sudurpashchim | 317,836 | 37.72% |
| Total | 5,183,493 | 47.84% |
The most decisive province in RSP’s unprecedented victory was Madhesh. RSP won 30 out of 32 constituencies across the eight districts of Madhesh Province, and also managed to secure 57.33% of the proportional vote. The two direct seats that went to other parties were Rautahat-2 (won by Mohammad Firdosh Alam of the Nepali Congress) and Dhanusha-1 (won by Matrika Yadav of NCP).
RSP Vote Share by Province (%)
| Province | RSP (%) | Other Parties (%) |
| Madhesh | 57.33% | 42.67% |
| Gandaki | 51.57% | 48.43% |
| Bagmati | 51.05% | 48.95% |
| Lumbini | 47.71% | 52.29% |
| Koshi | 42.63% | 57.37% |
| Sudurpashchim | 37.72% | 62.28% |
| Karnali | 24.11% | 75.89% |
In proportional representation, the RSP received a total of 47.84% of votes nationwide. If the proportional votes obtained in Madhesh are excluded, the overall figure drops to just 45.33%.
House of Representatives Election 2026 — Direct Votes Cast by Province
| Province | Registered Voters | Votes Cast | Turnout % |
| Karnali | 1,037,250 | 577,292 | 55.66% |
| Koshi | 3,574,310 | 2,095,385 | 58.62% |
| Gandaki | 1,870,065 | 1,027,073 | 54.92% |
| Bagmati | 3,682,310 | 2,243,574 | 60.93% |
| Madhesh | 3,636,414 | 2,123,141 | 58.39% |
| Lumbini | 3,386,680 | 2,028,806 | 59.91% |
| Sudurpashchim | 1,716,660 | 882,440 | 51.40% |
Among the provinces with the highest number of registered voters in the country, Madhesh Province comes second after Bagmati. Bagmati has a total of 3,682,310 voters, while Madhesh has slightly fewer at 3,636,414.
House of Representatives Election 2022 — Proportional Votes in Eight Districts of Madhesh
| District | Other Parties (%) | RSP (%) |
| Saptari | 98.67% | 1.33% |
| Siraha | 98.41% | 1.59% |
| Dhanusha | 97.92% | 2.08% |
| Parsa | 96.69% | 3.31% |
| Rautahat | 96.55% | 3.45% |
| Mahottari | 96.40% | 3.60% |
| Sarlahi | 94.54% | 5.46% |
| Bara | 93.50% | 6.50% |
*47 political parties participated in the 2022 election.
In Madhesh, the RSP received its highest proportional votes of 61.66% from Mahottari — the ancestral district of senior leader Balendra Shah, RSP’s prime ministerial candidate. After Mahottari, the RSP received strong proportional votes from Sarlahi and Dhanusha.
In the 2022 election, RSP’s performance in Madhesh was its weakest. Winning zero direct seats there, it received only 72,935 proportional votes (3.43%). Nationally, the RSP won 7 direct seats and received 10.7% (1,130,344 votes) of the total 10,560,062 proportional votes cast. On the basis of these proportional votes, the RSP became the fourth-largest force in the House of Representatives with 20 seats.
House of Representatives Election 2026 — RSP Votes by District in Madhesh
| District | RSP Votes (%) | Other Parties (%) |
| Mahottari | 61.66% | 38.34% |
| Sarlahi | 61.57% | 38.43% |
| Dhanusha | 60.76% | 39.24% |
| Bara | 57.74% | 42.26% |
| Siraha | 57.55% | 42.45% |
| Parsa | 54.57% | 45.43% |
| Saptari | 53.76% | 46.24% |
| Rautahat | 50.38% | 49.62% |
In Madhesh, all political parties except the RSP lost a significant number of votes. As votes flowed toward the RSP, even the Madhesh-based parties failed to qualify as national parties.
House of Representatives Election 2026 — NCP Vote Percentage in Madhesh Across Two Elections
| District | 2022(%) | 2026 (%) | Drop (%) |
| Saptari | 8.18% | 1.70% | 6.48% |
| Siraha | 16.66% | 6.93% | 9.73% |
| Dhanusha | 10.47% | 5.49% | 4.98% |
| Mahottari | 13.38% | 5.27% | 8.11% |
| Sarlahi | 19.05% | 6.26% | 12.79% |
| Rautahat | 20.93% | 7.72% | 13.21% |
| Bara | 9.94% | 2.21% | 7.73% |
| Parsa | 8.44% | 2.06% | 6.38% |
* After the 2022 election, CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) merged to form the NCP.
House of Representatives Election 2026 — Nepali Congress Vote % in Madhesh: 2022 vs 2026
| District | Vote Drop (%) |
| Saptari | −5.87% |
| Siraha | −7.18% |
| Dhanusha | −13.13% |
| Mahottari | −4.15% |
| Sarlahi | −4.96% |
| Rautahat | −7.65% |
| Bara | −6.8% |
| Parsa | −12.72% |
The Nepali Congress lost the highest percentage of votes in Parsa.
The RSP has flipped public opinion not just in Madhesh Province, but across the entire Terai region. Out of 73 constituencies in 21 Terai-Madhesh districts, the RSP won 68. In proportional representation, it also secured more than half — 54% — of the vote in the region.
The Terai-Madhesh region includes: Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari from Koshi Province; Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, and Parsa from Madhesh Province; Chitwan from Bagmati Province; Nawalparasi East from Gandaki Province; Nawalparasi West, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang, Banke, and Bardiya from Lumbini Province; and Kailali and Kanchanpur from Sudurpashchim Province.
