Balen Shah Defeats Former PM Oli, Set to Become Nepal's Next PM

Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah defeated former PM KP Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 parliamentary election. With his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) securing a majority, the former rapper is now set to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal.

Balen Shah Secures PM Post in Decisive Win

Former Rapper and Mayor of Kathmandu Balendra Shah (Balen) has won the parliamentary election from Jhapa-5, defeating his arch rival, former Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, the Election Commission announced. With this, Balen has confirmed his Prime Ministership as he makes his way to the lower house of the parliament.

As per the Election Commission, Balen secured 68,348 votes while former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli trailed behind with 18,734 votes. With this win, the Senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is set to become the next Prime Minister as the party has swept the election, securing a comfortable majority.

RSP Sweeps Election, Confirms Leadership

As per the results of the Election Commission, the RSP, formed about four years ago, has won 59 seats under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) category while maintaining a lead in 62 constituencies. The RSP is on course to secure an outright majority.

Party leaders have repeatedly reassured the public that there is no internal dispute over the premiership. First-ranking vice-chairperson DP Aryal said the party's top leaders, including Rabi Lamichhane and Balen Shah, were the reason voters supported the party, and the parliamentary leader and future Prime Minister will be Balen Shah.

Government Formation to Begin

The combined tally of direct and proportional seats exceeds the 138-seat majority threshold in the 275-member House of Representatives. The government formation process is expected to begin shortly, with swearing-in ceremonies for the new MPs. The outgoing Prime Minister Sushila Karki has expressed readiness to hand over authority respectfully once the new mandate is formalised.

From Mayor to Prime Minister: Balen's Political Rise

The RSP leadership has repeatedly stressed transparency and fidelity to voter expectations, ensuring that Balen Shah's premiership reflects both party decisions and public mandate. In 2022, a structural engineer with a signature pair of black rectangular sunglasses and a history in the underground rap scene did the unthinkable. Shah dismantled the established political machinery of Nepal to become the Mayor of Kathmandu. Running as an independent under the symbol of a walking stick, Balen secured 61,767 votes, comfortably outstripping veterans Sirjana Singh of Nepali Congress, who fell back with 38,341 votes, while CPN-UML candidate Keshav Sthapit, also the former Mayor of the capital, got 38,117 votes. Now, just four years later, the 35-year-old is no longer just a local phenomenon; he is poised to become one of the youngest Prime Ministers in the nation's history. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)