Minister Gupta steps down at last-hour to join RSP after denials

Minister for Youth and Sports Bablu Gupta resigned from his post on Monday, a day before the nomination filing date for First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) candidacy for the March 5 House of Representatives election.

After a fierce contest between several ‘Gen-Z’ candidates for the ministerial role as a representative of their generation, Gupta was appointed minister on October 26, 2025. His tenure lasted less than three months in an interim cabinet primarily tasked with conducting the election.

Though brief, Gupta's short stint as minister remained controversial and raised serious questions about ethics. Gupta was invited to attend a program in the US on the role of the Non-Residential Nepali youths in development scheduled for January 16-17, for which the cabinet had also provided approval. 

Though he did not appear at the event, the minister’s attendance would have appeared unjustified, especially considering the looming election. Additionally, the government had decided to limit non-essential meetings and foreign travel except in emergencies.

In September 2025, Prime Minister Sushila Karki stated that she aimed to form a non-partisan cabinet, whose members had no intention of contesting the election. Gupta’s decision to contest the election has come out to be inconsistent with that standard.

On December 29, 2025, Gupta was also seen at the unity agreement between the RSP and the Ujyaalo Nepal Party (UNP), where then-Interim Minister Kulman Ghising, signing an agreement on behalf of the UNP, was designated as the RSP’s second-ranked vice-president.

Ghising held three ministerial portfolios at the time, and finally resigned after severe criticism following his false claim of having no involvement in any party-related activities.

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However, Gupta shied away from resigning despite his presence at a partisan event, even without a formal affiliation, which further complicated perceptions of institutional impartiality. Later, PM Karki reportedly asked ministers to step down if they wanted to contest elections, a request Gupta ignored until the arrival of the nomination date for candidacy.

As the election approaches in less than two months, one of the major concerns of these late-hour resignations is that cabinet members failed to disclose their political ambitions early on and instead deliberately chose to depart at the last hour, leaving their respective portfolios vacant.

This weakens the government’s stability and efficiency at a crucial pre-election period, while raising doubts about the impartiality of officials, who may be positioning themselves for electoral gains.

Gupta is currently in Janakpur campaigning for the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). He is reportedly preparing to contest the election on an RSP ticket from Siraha-1 constituency.

Meanwhile, Minister for Communications, Information and Technology Jagadish Kharel has resigned from his post, too. Reportedly, he is said to enter the RSP and contest the election from Lalitpur-2.