Kathmandu – Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Ravi Lamichhane on Tuesday held talks with senior leaders of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi marking one of the highest-level political engagements between Nepal’s emerging political force and the BJP leadership.
Lamichhane, leading an RSP delegation under the BJP’s “Know BJP” initiative met party’s National President Nitin Nabin at the party headquarters in the Indian capital.
The meeting comes at a time when Nepal’s newer political parties are increasingly seeking to understand and engage with political organisations beyond the country’s borders as they work to strengthen their own institutional structures.
According to the BJP press statement, discussions focused on party organisation, grassroots mobilisation, membership expansion, candidate selection mechanisms and democratic participation.
“The RSP delegation was keen to know regarding BJP’s membership process, candidate selection system and the party’s mechanism for identifying and connecting with grassroots workers,” the statement read.
The RSP delegation was particularly interested in understanding how the BJP has built its extensive organisational network from the national level down to local booth committees, a model widely regarded as one of the foundations of the party’s electoral success.
The interaction also touched on the growing influence of younger voters and the role of Gen Z in shaping future political leadership, a topic that resonates strongly with the RSP which rose to prominence by attracting urban and first-time voters seeking an alternative to Nepal’s traditional political establishment.
Nabin highlighted the longstanding cultural and civilisational links between India and Nepal, describing party-to-party exchanges as an important avenue for strengthening democratic dialogue between the two neighbours.
The visit follows Lamichhane’s arrival in New Delhi earlier in the day where he was received at the airport by Arun Singh and Vijay Chauthaiwale signalling the importance the BJP attached to the engagement.
While the visit was framed as an organisational learning exercise, it also reflects the growing outreach between political actors in India and Nepal beyond formal government-to-government channels.
The RSP delegation also toured the BJP media centre and central library before attending a luncheon interaction with senior party leaders.
For Lamichhane and the RSP, the visit offers an opportunity to study the organisational machinery of the world’s largest political party at a time when Nepal’s newest major political force is looking to expand its footprint and consolidate its position ahead of future electoral contests.
