PM Modi speaks to Nepal leaders Rabi Lamichhane, Balendra Shah

New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to leaders of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) of Nepal Rabi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah and congratulated them for their election victory and conveyed India's commitment to work with them for mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of the two countries.

In his telephonic conversations with the two leaders of Nepal, PM Modi said he was confident that with the joint endeavours, India-Nepal relations will scale new heights in the coming years.

"Had warm telephone conversations with Mr. Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Mr. Balendra Shah, Senior Leader of the RSP," he said in a post on 'X'.

The prime minister said he congratulated both leaders on their electoral victories and RSP's resounding success in the Nepal elections.

"Conveyed my best wishes for their forthcoming new Government and India's commitment to work with them for mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of our two countries," he said.

The House of Representatives (HoR) in Nepal has a total of 275 seats. While 165 members are elected through the First Past The Post (FPTP) or direct voting system, 110 members are elected through proportional representation.

In the general elections, so far, the results for Nepal's 161 of the 165 seats have been declared under direct voting. The outcome on the remaining four seats is expected to be declared soon.

Under proportionate voting, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured 4049,604 votes, followed by the NC at 13,60,281, the CPN-UML 1150,679, the NCP 591,940, the Shram Sanskriti Party 291,965, the Janata Samajwadi Party 1,16,463 and the Rastriya Parivartan Party 276,931.

With more than 40 lakh votes under the proportional representation system, the RSP is expected to secure at least 40 additional seats, taking its tally to around 164 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives, which is well above the 138 needed for a simple majority, political observers said. PTI ACB -- MNK MNK