On November 2, the then mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), Balendra Shah, posted a brief but abusively worded comment on his social media account criticising the United States, India, and China, as well as major Nepali political parties, including the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). The action was not taken seriously by the public as Shah has been known to post controversial comments on social media, especially during the wee hours of midnight. However, until then, it was believed that Shah had his reservations regarding the RSP and its leadership. The bitter-sour relationship between Shah and RSP chairman Rabi Lamichhane was also revealed during Lamichhane's tenure as home minister. Aligning with the saying that there are no permanent friends or foes in politics, the tables turned just before the election, and two politically opposite poles – Shah's team and the RSP – converged together to form a sturdy political force. This provided a fresh gust of wind to the deteriorating reputation of the RSP that was carrying Lamichhane's cooperative fraudulence baggage. Despite a soft corner of the current government towards the RSP and Lamichhane, the political campaigning of the party was not picking up due to his dubious reputation and internal party conflicts. However, the integration of Shah and his team into the RSP abruptly elevated its political standing. The election results show that this strategy has worked extremely well. Shah has remained a somewhat enigmatic political figure, as he rarely appeared at public events or interacted with the media during his tenure as mayor. Although Shah was unable to fulfill his major pre-election commitments as mayor, the public responded positively to his visible, albeit cosmetic, achievements. This was obvious on the background of his predecessor's incapability. Hence, he was perceived as the poster boy of good-governance and the people sensed him as the saviour of the nation. Conversely, official records show that Kathmandu Metropolitan City ranked last among the metropolitan cities based on performance. The sudden rise of Shah in Nepal's politics is interesting. The little known rapper was an underdog during the local body elections held in 2022. Had the Nepali Congress (NC) fielded a strong candidate in place of Srijana Singh, Nepal's political landscape would have been totally different than what it is now. The persistent nepotism within the NC triggered the elevation of Shah in Nepal's politics. Bad governance, state-sponsored corruption, and the oligarchic structures entrenched within the traditional political parties have fueled the rise of populism and the emergence of new alternative parties, with Shah often portrayed as their symbolic figurehead. RSP's landslide victory in the recently concluded federal election can be credited to only one individual, Balendra Shah. Pre-election reports indicated that voters were overwhelmingly focussed on this single figure. This was also evident during his extravagant roadshows across the country. In many cases, the respective RSP candidates were of secondary importance to the voters, as Shah himself remained their primary point of attention. A two-third majority is an extremely rare achievement in a parliamentary democracy. In an electoral system with participatory representation (PR), as in Nepal, the RSP's electoral achievement is astonishing. People have shown their anticipation and support to it. Now, it is RSP's turn to respond to people's endorsement and work exclusively towards the well-being of the people. The RSP and its leadership should establish a task force to develop strategies for implementing the promises made during the election campaign. These include preparing a dialogue paper on constitutional amendments within three months, reducing the number of ministries, initiating investigations into the assets of public office holders since 1990, reimbursing the pending savings of small-scale cooperative depositors within 100 days, and depoliticising universities, among other commitments. People have given their verdict. The notion that a new and alternative political force is needed to metamorphosise Nepal towards prosperity needs to be justified, although majority of the elected RSP parliamentarians were associated with traditional parties in the past. In addition, a lot of crime convicts and individuals with dubious morality have also been elected as members of parliament. On a positive note, this presents an opportunity for these individuals to restore their reputation and make a fresh start. As authority entails accountability, the RSP has a thorny path to follow after its landslide victory. Nepal's socio-politico-economic status has plummeted to the lowest point at the moment. Hence, the RSP has a big challenge, and at the same time, a great opportunity to reform Nepal. It can be achieved only with good governance, meritocracy, and will-power of the leaders. With an almost two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, the RSP is in a favourable state to achieve this. The incompetence of the traditional parties over many decades has detached them from the public. The RSP and its leadership should learn a lesson from this precedence and work in favour of the people and nation. Else, they will find themselves on the same page as the traditional parties during the next elections. The RSP must demonstrate that its electoral success reflects a genuine public referendum rather than people's sadistic satisfaction. The honeymoon period of the first hundred days of the government will likely indicate the direction in which it intends to govern. Best wishes to the newly elected legislators. Dr Joshi is a senior scientist and independent opinion maker based in Germany; pushpa.joshi@gmail.com