Kathmandu

Former rapper and Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, has won the parliamentary election from Jhapa-5, defeating former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, according to results announced by the Election Commission of Nepal.

Official figures showed Shah securing 68,348 votes, while Oli finished far behind with 18,734 votes.

The victory paves the way for Shah to enter the House of Representatives of Nepal and assume the post of Prime Minister, as his party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is set to form the next government after a strong electoral performance.

The relatively young party, established around four years ago, won 59 seats under the First-Past-the-Post system and is leading in several more constituencies. According to preliminary results, the party’s combined tally from direct and proportional representation seats is expected to cross the 138-seat majority mark in the 275-member lower house.

Senior RSP leader DP Aryal said the party’s success was largely due to the popularity of its key leaders, including Rabi Lamichhane and Shah. He confirmed that Shah would serve as the party’s parliamentary leader and the next Prime Minister.

The process of government formation is expected to begin soon, with newly elected members of parliament set to take their oath. Outgoing Prime Minister Sushila Karki has indicated that she will formally transfer power once the election mandate is officially confirmed.

Party leaders have repeatedly emphasised that Shah’s leadership reflects both internal consensus within the RSP and the mandate given by voters.

Shah first rose to national prominence in 2022 when he won the election for mayor of Kathmandu as an independent candidate. A structural engineer by training and a former figure in Nepal’s underground rap scene, Shah surprised the political establishment with his victory.

Running under the symbol of a walking stick, he received 61,767 votes, defeating Sirjana Singh of the Nepali Congress, who secured 38,341 votes, and Keshav Sthapit of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), who got 38,117 votes.

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Now, just four years later, the 35-year-old politician appears set to become one of the youngest prime ministers in Nepal’s history.