I fully agree with gyanguru ji's analysis. NC benefited from the split in left votes between the UML and the Maoists. If the two left parties had formed an alliance NC would been thrown into the dustbin of history. The same fate would have befallen NC if the party had not merged back in October (good timing). From the results thus far the UML probably would have benefited more from the left alliance esp in Kathmandu-2 & Rautahat-6 The election results suggest, for better or for worse, that Nepal is now a de-facto communist country.

I think this election will lead to a major re-alignment of party politics in Nepal. NC will probably survive intact because it is the party on the right i.e. an alternative to the Communist left - also India does not want to lose its only vassal in Nepal . But the party won't get rejuvenated to its old status as the dominant political force until the old leaders give way to newer/younger ones. Given NC's leaders' penchant to view themselves indispensable, this  might take a  while. Also the Koiralas in NC will have to learn to earn their way up and not take NC leadership as their birth-right.

As for the UML, it is no longer the ONLY dominant legitimate left party. That will certainly lead to an identity crisis, and my guess is that until the party finds a new way to position itself between the Maoists (leftist nationalist) and NC (rightist India-suckers), it will not be able to return to its old status - it could possibly fold into the Maoist camp.

The election results also show that parties based purely on ethnicity and region have not fared well except perhaps MPRF which is good for the country in the long-run. This suggests that the major parties have been able to co-opt ethnic & regional votes (btw I am a Janajati myself); obviously more work is needed on the madheshi front. I kind of disagree (given the election results) with gyanguru ji's view that if madhesi parties had formed an alliance, they would have swept the region because wherever MPRF have won, the 2nd and 3rd place holders are either NC, UML or Maoists. The RPPs, the RJPs and all the alphabet soup of parties will now cease to exist in any viable form  but there will be jokers in those parties who run in elections.

I will repeat my mantra, "so far so good, let's see what happens next".

Jai Nepal, Lal Salam, Whatever...