Kathmandu, Dec. 24 -- night meeting between Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane and Kathmandu mayor Balenendra (Balen) Shah on Monday has stirred a fresh debate in Nepal's political circles, amid growing speculation about possible cooperation between emerging alternative political forces for the March 5 elections.

While lawmakers from major political forces such as the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML have filed writ petitions at the Supreme Court seeking the reinstatement of the dissolved House of Representatives, alternative forces leaders including Lamichhane and Shah, who was elected mayor in the 2022 local elections as an independent, seek polarisation ahead of the snap parliamentary elections.

The RSP leader and a close ...