The Tamesis
March 11, 2026
kathmandu – In 2006, when the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) ended a decade-long insurgency, identity politics became a buzzword and later dominated Nepal’s political discourse during the constitution-making process.
Talei/Madhesh is a hub of identity politics as it gave birth to several prominent political parties and leaders in the plains.
This also led to Dr. Ram Balan Yadav, an experienced politician in the Nepali Assembly, becoming the first President of the Republic of Nepal. Retired judge Paramananda Jha became the first vice-president elected. The current Vice President Ramsahai Prasad Yadav is also from Madhesh province.
But no party centered on regionalism and identity politics can perform well in the March 5 elections.
The Madhesi People’s Forum, the fourth largest party in the first Constituent Assembly election in 2008, has gone through multiple rounds of splits and mergers and is now renamed the People’s Party. It failed to win a single seat in the March 5 election.
The emergence of Balendra Shah as the first Madhesi Prime Minister seemed to have revolutionized the political landscape of Madhesi.
Shah’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSP) won 30 of the province’s 32 seats with a simple majority. The Nepali Congress won only one seat.
In the 2022 elections, the party received only about 75,000 votes and did not win any seats in the province. But in less than four years, the RSP won 95% of seats under the FPTP, leaving Congress and others far behind in proportional representation vote counting.
The Madhesh party is the biggest loser. Not since 1991 have these parties been in such a weak position. Even before the Madhesh movement in 2007, the Nepal Sadbhavana Party was an established force.
This time, Janata Party of Nepal (JSPN) Chairman Upendra Yadav was defeated in Saptari-3 and Janata Party Chairman CK Raut was defeated in Saptari-2. In Rautahat-3, PPP candidate Prabhu Sah was defeated. Most candidates from Madhesh parties lost their deposit of Rs 10,000 each.
Rajendra Mahato formed the National Mukti Party under his leadership and contested in Sarlahi-2, finishing third. He couldn’t even get his deposit back. (Candidates who fail to obtain at least 10% of the total votes in the constituency will not be able to get their deposit back.)
Political observer Vijay Kant Karna said it was the Barron factor that inspired widespread public support, but whether the current wave could continue depended on whether the new RSS government could deliver on its promises.
The RSS held its first election rally in Janakpur, the heart of Madhesh province, and announced Barron as the party’s candidate for prime minister. Barron also calls himself “Son of Madheshi”. This seems to have struck a chord with many Madhesis.
Khanna said: “The election results also destroyed the organizational base and structure of the Madhesh party in one fell swoop. They will now try to regroup after this humiliating defeat.”
Manchala Jha, another political analyst, opined, “Several political parties have emerged in Madhesh, but none has been able to unify the thalai, hills and mountains.”
Seeing Barun’s outstanding performance as mayor of Kathmandu, the people of Madheshi “see him as an ideal candidate to be the first native Madheshi prime minister,” Jha said.
In his first campaign speech in Janakpur, Barun assured the Madhesi people of his commitment to the current constitution and federalism, much to the relief of the locals. The Tarai-Madhesi region strongly supports federalism to ensure greater representation of marginalized communities in national affairs.
However, the poor performance of Madhesi parties does not erase their contribution, Jha said.
“It was these Madhesi parties that started the wave of support for federalism and inclusivity in Nepal. It was their contribution that the first president and vice president were both from Madhesi,” Jha said. Frequent divisions and the promotion of nepotism and favoritism led to their downfall, she believes.
Barron seems well aware of the Madhesi contribution to federalism. Before the election, he also laid a wreath at the statue of Ramesh Mahato, the first martyr of the Madheshi movement, in Silaharaghan.
Speaking in Maithili, he assured the people of Madhesh that the provinces should be strengthened. Dipendra Jha, an advocate for Madhesh province and a former chief prosecutor, said the speech helped cast him as a supporter of federal agencies.
“After the RSP announced him as the prime ministerial candidate, the people of Madheshi were ecstatic. Secondly, he told the people of Madheshi that they should go to Kathmandu to see Pashupatinath and Swayambhu instead of asking for rights. Various rights and facilities will be provided at their doorstep,” Jha said.
Jia added that the politics of laxity have now overshadowed the politics of identity. This is largely due to Barron’s high acceptance in the Talai and mountains.
The influence of other regional parties in Nepal’s eastern and western regions also appears to be waning.
In the eastern hills, Harka Sampang, who won the recent elections from Sunsari (Dharan), is expected to attract votes from indigenous hill communities for his Shram Sanskriti party. But that’s not the case. Similarly, Ujjayalo Nepal Party chief Kulman Ghising has also chosen to limit the identity politics agenda to a large extent.
Tula Narayan Shah, a keen observer of Madhesh and federal institutions, says Nepali politics has entered a post-identity politics phase. The agenda for this election includes service delivery, economic development, economic growth and job creation.
“Identity politics was at its peak around 2006-07, but now circumstances, needs and people’s agendas have changed. As we move towards post-identity politics, other issues and agendas have taken center stage,” Shah said. “The RSP announced Barron as its candidate for prime minister because of his Madhesi identity. The RSP sent a message to Madhesi people that they were more willing to embrace identity politics than others and that it had become acceptable.”
Shah said the agenda of marginalized communities was once again mainstream and the people of Madheshi saw in Barun someone who could fulfill their aspirations.
