Rabi Lamichhane ( ne, रवि लामिछाने; born 11 June 1975) is a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ese politician and chairman of the

Rastriya Swatantra Party The Rastriya Swatantra Party ( ne, राष्ट्रिय स्वतन्त्र पार्टी; RSP) (; NIP) is a political party in Nepal. It currently remains as a junior ally in Prachanda-led government as of 26 December 2022. ...

. He is currently serving as the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, in office since 26 December 2022. He was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from Chitwan 2 in the

2022 general election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local ...

. Lamichhane is a former

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

who came to fame attempting to set the

Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for hosting the longest-ever marathon television talk show in April 2013. He resigned as managing director of Galaxy 4K TV in June 2022 and announced the formation of the

to contest the

2022 Nepalese general election General elections are expected to be held in Nepal in November 2022 unless the House of Representatives is dissolved earlier. The discussion is underway due to interest of leading Nepali Congress while the opposition, CPN (UML), is already deman ...

Broadcast career

Lamichhane rose to fame as the host of a television show on the News24 aimed at setting the world record for longest marathon hosting of a television show in April 2013. He selected the '

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

was born in Nepal' theme in order to "help promote Nepal globally". The previous record was set by two

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

presenters who stayed on the air for 52 hours in 2011. He interviewed politicians, journalists and celebrities, and took phone calls from viewers. While he set the Guinness world record at over 62 hours in April 2013, the record has since been broken by Alexandru Raducanu of Romania, who hosted an over 72-hour-long show. Lamichhane went on to host the popular ''Sidha Kura Janta Sanga'' (Straight Talk with the People) on the News 24. The shows format has Lamichhane providing an editorial monologue alongside reporting, primarily the kind of sting journalism pioneered by the Indian news magazine ''

Tehelka ''Tehelka'' (Hindi: Sensation) is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. According to the British newspaper ''The Independent'', the ''Tehelka'' was founded by Tarun Tejpal, Aniruddha Bahal and a ...

''. Lamichhane follows up on complaints from ordinary people, chiefly victims of fraud or corruption, and confronts the alleged perpetrators on camera. The show has been described as "unapologetically nationalist, at times simplistic in its coverage of complex issues," and creating "a cult of personality around its host". Lamichhane resigned from News24 in January 2021 and announced the launch of a new version of his show on Galaxy 4K TV.

2019 arrest

On 15 August 2019, police arrested Lamichhane from his News 24 office in connection with the suicide of journalist Shalikram Pudasaini. In a video recorded before his death, Pudasaini, who had also worked for News24, had named Lamichhane, among others, as driving him to suicide.

Chitwan Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...

police charged Lamichhane, along with two others with abetment of suicide. His arrest provoked widespread protest rallies in his support across the country with thousands of young people taking to the streets in Chitwan. Protestors saw Lamichhane's arrest as an attempt to stifle his journalism and as retaliation for his exposure of corruption in the state. Lamichhane was released on Rs 500,000 bail a few days later. The court eventually cleared Lamichhane of all charges.

Political career

On 16 June 2022, Lamichhane announced his resignation from Galaxy 4K TV in order to contest the 2022 general elections later in the year for a seat to the

. He announced the formation of a new political party, the

on 21 June 2022. He registered his candidacy from Chitwan 2. His car was vandalized while on the campaign trail in

on 13 November 2022. Lamichhane was elected with a majority of 34,312 votes, defeating

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party o ...

' Umesh Shrestha, an incumbent minister of state, and

CPN (UML) CPN may refer to: * Calpine Corporation, New York Stock Exchange symbol CPN * Canadian Perinatal Network * ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'' * Carpinteria (Amtrak station), California, Amtrak station code CPN * Caspian Airlines (Iran), ICAO airline ...

Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel (born 4 July 1967) is a Nepali communist politician and was a member of the House of Representatives of the federal parliament of Nepal. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 as a part of his second term ha ...

, the incumbent member of the constituency. In the aftermath of the election, his party supported

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...

's nomination for prime minister, and Lamichhane led the RSP in government as deputy prime minister and minister for home affairs, and was sworn in on 26 December 2022.

Criticism

While Lamichhane has become a celebrity in Nepal, there are some who have raised questions about his style of journalism and the "cult of personality" that has sprung up around him. While his methods have borne results for the ordinary people on whose behalf he pursues cases of fraud and corruption, critics have pointed to his "nationalist posturing" and "simplistic story lines".

Personal life

Rabi Lamichhane was married to Isha Lamichhane for 24 years until their divorce in 2019. They had been separated for 10 years prior to their divorce. He married Nepal Film Development Board chair,

Nikita Poudel Nikita Poudel is a Nepalese film producer and former chairperson of Film Development Board. Career Poudel has produced many Nepalese film including ''Kusume Rumal 2'', ''Sundar Mero Naam'', and ''Preeti Ko Phool''. She became the first female ...

on 21 January 2019. Lamichhane has two daughters with his first wife. Lamichhane was an

American citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

from 2007 to 2017. His previous Nepali citizenship was revived following the renouncement of his American citizenship. During his campaign for the 2022 general election, a complaint was filed calling for his candidacy be scrapped. The complainant claimed that he had not renounced his Nepali citizenship while being an American citizen and Nepali law does not allow the provision of

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

References