Kathmandu: With the March 5 election approaching, Nepal finds itself consumed by a political debate pitting established parties against emerging forces. This contest centers on political movements born from Gen Z protests and older parties now rebranding themselves as “alternatives,” all seeking to unite against parties that have governed since democracy’s restoration in 1990. The “new and alternative” label, loosely defined as anti-establishment, has become the rallying cry for this opposition.Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah has emerged as the central figure orchestrating this anti-establishment coalition. After his stunning 2022 victory as an independent candidate, crushing major party nominees, Shah has retained strong support among urban youth. This popularity makes him invaluable to newer parties seeking electoral credibility. Though complete party unification seems unlikely given personality conflicts, these forces are pursuing an electoral alliance designed to unsettle traditional parties psychologically. Shah has spent recent days consulting with self-described Gen Z leaders, newly formed parties, independent lawmakers, and even some mainstream politicians.Amresh Singh, an independent lawmaker and former member of the Nepali Congress, stated that the primary objective of such an alliance is to prevent traditional parties from returning to power. Singh, who recently met with Shah, suggested that these new forces would collaborate to stop the current leadership which he claimed had ruined the country over the last four decades.The unification push gained momentum after a district court released Rabi Lamichhane on bail. Lamichhane faces multiple charges of cooperative fraud which he dismisses as political persecution. Upon release, he launched tirades against mainstream parties, especially former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli. Lamichhane and Shah have held multiple meetings, with reports suggesting a joint statement to demonstrate unity, even if merely symbolic. The Gen Z movement has spawned numerous new parties, while some traditional fringe forces now rebrand themselves as alternatives.Former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai is a prominent example. Active in politics since the 1980s, Bhattarai now aligns with new political forces, claiming he envisioned alternative politics in 2015.After the Nepal constitution’s promulgation that year, he abandoned the Maoist party and his Maoist ideology, pledging to build a socialism-oriented movement. Despite these efforts, Bhattarai suffered electoral defeats in 2017 and 2022. Following the September 8-9 GenZ protests, he intensified criticism of mainstream parties, arguing they should be barred from national politics, positioning himself firmly with newer forces.The Bibeksheel party emerged a decade ago as an alternative but failed to gain traction, plagued by internal rifts rooted in personality conflicts. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has been working toward unification with such parties and recently merged with Bibeksheel.The RSP, led by former television anchor Lamichhane, became a formidable presence in the 2022 parliamentary elections, challenging the major parties’ long dominance. RSP candidates won by substantial margins, prompting major parties to form electoral alliances, a sign of their weakening grip since 2017.After 2022 elections, Lamichhane became deputy prime minister and home affairs minister, a powerful position. He later faced allegations of misappropriating cooperative deposits during his tenure as Galaxy Television’s CEO. Despite multiple ongoing cases, Lamichhane continues leading the RSP and has intensified consultations with various societal groups following court decisions. His singular mission – defeating major parties in the elections.A single unified party remains improbable, but new forces could unite around the narrow objective of winning March 5. Compared to mainstream parties, they lack strong organisational infrastructure, planning instead to capitalise on anti-mainstream political party sentiment. Their largely non-ideological nature facilitates cooperation, though mainstream parties have also shown flexibility in forming alliances.These alternative forces build their appeal on accusations of corruption and mis-governance against traditional parties. They frame the September 8-9 protests as popular revolt against the establishment, arguing that mainstream parties should be blocked from power while new parties represent youth aspirations, if not the entire population.The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are feeling the pressure. They face internal disunity while their public image has suffered from corruption scandals, poor governance, and failure to create jobs or economic prosperity during their time in power.New parties promote a narrative of salvation – traditional parties ruined the country, they argue, and only fresh forces can rescue it. Major parties are attempting to counter this by highlighting decades of progress, but large segments of society remain unconvinced. Public opinion is shaped not from data but from political rhetoric. Anti-establishment sentiment pervades intellectual circles, civil society, and media, which amplify anti-party narratives. While not openly expressed, international community and organizations appear to encourage new forces at traditional parties’ expense. The current government, led by Sushila Karki, also advances the narrative that post-election leadership should be new and young.As election day nears, mainstream parties sense a growing coalition against them manifesting throughout society. Top leaders recognise they face a difficult contest on March 5. This explains why leaders like K.P. Sharma Oli and Sher Bahadur Deuba are seeking election delays through parliament revival and government change. Both the NC and UML have filed Supreme Court writs demanding parliament restoration.However, President Ram Chandra Poudel and Prime Minister Karki support the March 5 timeline, knowing postponement would undermine their legitimacy. New parties likewise pressure the government to hold elections as scheduled. Among the three major parties, the NC and UML occupy similar positions, while Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who now leads the Nepali Communist Party, attempts to distance himself from both, positioning his party as pro-Gen Z and hoping to gain ground by contrasting with Oli.To strengthen his position, Dahal has incorporated fringe parties into the Nepali Communist Party. The fifth-largest party in the dissolved House, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), also claims alternative status but remains outside new parties’ radar. The RPP maintains its agenda of restoring monarchy and establishing a Hindu state.The coming election, whether on March 5 or later, represents not merely a contest among political parties but a struggle between old and new. Should all “new” forces unite, the two largest parties, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, would likely form their own electoral alliance for the first time – an unprecedented development in Nepal’s recent electoral politics. Though these parties have governed in coalition after elections, they have never before entered an election as alliance partners. Previous pre-poll alliances paired the NC with Maoists or UML with Maoists, but never the two largest parties together.