DistantNews
🇳🇵 Nepal /Elections & Politics

Built in 68 days, broken in 26: Nepal's rapid political rise and fall

From Kathmandu Post · (6m ago) English Mixed tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • New political actors, particularly non-career politicians, are leveraging social media to gain traction by tapping into public fear and frustration.
  • This new information flow bypasses traditional media, allowing unfiltered, emotionally charged messages to reach audiences directly, favoring relatability over verification.
  • The rapid rise and fall of figures like Sudan Gurung in Nepal illustrate how this new media environment can propel individuals to prominence and equally swiftly lead to their downfall.

The Kathmandu Post has observed a significant shift in Nepali politics, mirroring global trends where personality and narrative-crafting, amplified by social media, overshadow traditional political structures and ideologies. The recent political trajectory of Sudan Gurung, who entered politics and became Home Minister within an astonishing 68 days only to see his influence collapse in 26 days, serves as a stark case study.

Their ascendance to power was not primarily fuelled by ideology or the backing of a political organisation.

Contextualizing the rise of new political figures.

This phenomenon is not unique to Nepal; figures like Donald Trump in the US and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine have similarly harnessed anti-establishment sentiment and mastery of visibility. However, Gurung's story, as detailed by The Kathmandu Post, highlights the specific vulnerabilities and dynamics within Nepal's evolving information landscape. His rapid ascent, built on social work credibility and then accelerated by social media, demonstrates how quickly public perception can be manufactured and dismantled.

A commonality among these figures is their mastery of visibility and their ability to shape narratives.

Identifying a shared trait among influential political actors.

What makes this particularly relevant for Nepal is the bypassing of traditional media gatekeepers. Unfiltered, emotionally charged messages now dominate, rewarding relatability over factual verification. This environment is fertile ground for attacking opponents rather than debating policy, a tactic that proved highly effective for parties like the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) during the recent elections. The Kathmandu Post notes that while this new media ecosystem offers unprecedented reach, it is also inherently volatile, as Gurung's dramatic fall illustrates.

Today, raw and unchecked information moves at an unprecedented speed across internet platforms.

Describing the current information environment.

This shift presents a unique challenge and opportunity for Nepali politics. The Kathmandu Post believes that while the speed and directness of information flow can empower new voices, it also necessitates a critical public discourse. The ease with which negative narratives spread underscores the need for greater media literacy and a more discerning approach to information consumption, especially as Nepal navigates its democratic processes.

This environment favours relatability over verification, not requiring any sort of mediation, fact-checking, institutional validation or formal procedures.

Explaining the characteristics of the new information system.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog