Kathmandu, March 8 – Balendra Shah, a rapper turned politician, and his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) are set to form the government in Nepal after securing a resounding victory in the crucial general election, effectively ousting the established parties in the politically fragile Himalayan nation.
Popularly known as "Balen," the 35-year-old RSP candidate, who defeated four-time former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), by a significant margin of approximately 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency, has become the frontrunner.
Balen secured 68,348 votes against Oli's 18,734, according to the Election Commission.
Balen is expected to be Nepal's next prime minister, reflecting the public's desire for change and rejection of established parties.
He will be the first Madhesi prime minister of the Himalayan nation and also the youngest to hold the top position in Nepal's parliamentary history.
The RSP won 107 of the 138 seats, with results declared by the Election Commission up to 10 am on Sunday.
The RSP's victories include a clean sweep in all 15 constituencies in three districts of the Kathmandu Valley, according to the Election Commission data.
The established parties failed to convince voters, who were primarily concerned with issues like fighting corruption and ending nepotism, along with a generational shift in political leadership within the Himalayan nation.
The Nepali Congress (NC) came in a distant second with only 15 seats won, leading in three constituencies.
The CPN-UML won just seven seats and is leading in three, while the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won six seats and is leading in one, and the Shrama Shakti Party (SSP) won one seat and is leading in two. One independent candidate also won.
Former Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar of the RSP defeated Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire of the dissolved House of Representatives and a senior leader of the CPN-UML.
Rana Magar won by a significant margin of 48,742 votes against Ghimire, who secured 11,368 votes.
Gagan Thapa, 49, the Nepali Congress presidential candidate, lost to Amaresh Singh of the RSP in the Dhanusha-4 constituency.
Singh received 33,688 votes against Thapa's 22,831, according to the Election Commission.
Other senior leaders of the Nepali Congress, including General Secretary Guru Raj Ghimire, Shekhar Koirala, and Bimalendra Nidhi, also faced defeat.
Ten office bearers of the CPN-UML, including the party's General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, also lost the election.
Other losing candidates from the CPN-UML include Vice Presidents Bishnu Paudel, Prithvi Subba Gurung, and Gokarna Bista, Deputy General Secretary Raghubir Mahaseth, and Secretaries Sherdhan Rai, Mahesh Basnet, Rajan Bhattarai, and Bhanubhakta Dhakal.
Approximately 60 per cent of the eligible voters participated in the March 5 election to the House of Representatives in Nepal. Counting of votes started late on Thursday night, and as of Sunday morning, counting was in progress in the remaining constituencies, the Election Commission said.
The election was closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to facilitate developmental partnerships between the two countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people and government of Nepal on Saturday for the successful conduct of the election.
"It is heartening to see my Nepali sisters and brothers exercising their democratic rights, which is a historic milestone in Nepal's democratic journey," Modi said in a post on X.
He also stated that India remains committed to working closely with the people of Nepal and its new government to achieve greater peace, progress, and prosperity.
Oli, who was also the prime ministerial candidate of the CPN-UML, congratulated Balen on his victory, wishing him a successful and trouble-free five-year tenure.
"Congratulations, Balen," Oli wrote in a social media post, attaching a 2022 photo of him gifting a tabla to Balen after the rapper-turned-politician won the mayoral election in Kathmandu as an independent candidate.
RSP Chairman Lamichhane won with a significant margin in the Chitwan-2 constituency, securing his third consecutive victory with 54,402 votes against NC's Mina Kumari Kharel, who received 14,564 votes.
According to the Election Commission, former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' of the NCP won from Rukum Purba district by securing 10,240 votes against his rival Lilamani Gautam of the CPN-UML, who received 3,462 votes.
Gyanendra Shahi of the RPP won from the Jumla constituency of Karnali province by defeating NCP's Naresh Bhandari and became the only candidate of the pro-monarchist party to secure a seat in the House of Representatives.
The election also saw 10 women candidates emerge victorious – nine from the RSP and one from the NC.
Meanwhile, the RSP is also leading in the proportional voting system, securing 1,379,280 votes, followed by Nepali Congress with 468,066. The CPN-UML has received 377,974, the Nepali Communist Party 181,136, the RPP 100,674, and the Shrama Shakti Party 56,235 votes.
Of the 165 seats being elected through direct voting, 138 are being elected through direct voting, while the remaining 27 are through a proportionate method.
Approximately 3,400 candidates were vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates were vying for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The Gen Z, through its two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9 last year, ousted Prime Minister Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the backing of the Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
Though Balen was a popular choice to lead the interim government after Oli's ouster, he declined to lead the interim administration, saying he would prefer to contest the parliamentary election for a full term.
In January, he joined the RSP and was soon declared the party's prime-ministerial candidate.
The major issues raised by Gen Z before and during the election campaign were anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, a generational change in political leadership, etc.
Sunil Babu Pant, former MP and a political analyst, said, "The victory of the Rastriya Swatantra Party in the March 5 election and the expectation that Balen Shah could emerge as Nepal's next prime minister reflect the people's deep-rooted frustration with the old political order and their hope for a new direction."
"As Balen assumes the country's leadership, his first responsibility must be to demonstrate that corruption will not be tolerated under any circumstances," he said.
Balen will also face a complex geopolitical challenge, Pant said, adding, "He must prove that he is not a puppet of any external power, western or otherwise. Nepal's leadership must carefully balance relations with all global actors and pursue an independent foreign policy that prioritises national interest."
