Kathmandu, March 8 – Balendra Shah, the rapper turned politician, is set to form the government in Nepal after securing a resounding victory in the crucial general election, results of which were declared on Sunday. This victory has significantly weakened the established parties in the politically unstable Himalayan country.
Popularly known as "Balen," the 35-year-old candidate for the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) defeated four-time former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, the chairman of Nepal's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), by a substantial margin of approximately 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency.
Balen received 68,348 votes against Oli's 18,734, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Balen is expected to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal, reflecting a public sentiment of rejection towards established parties. The RSP, formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, has won 100 seats out of the 129 seats for which results have been declared, according to the EC.
Balen will be the first Madhesi Prime Minister of the Himalayan country and also the youngest to hold the top position in Nepal's parliamentary history.
The RSP’s victories include a clean sweep of all 10 constituencies in Kathmandu district, even as it led in 25 constituencies across the country, according to EC data.
Established parties failed to convince voters regarding major issues such as fighting corruption and ending nepotism, along with generational change in the political leadership of the Himalayan country.
The Nepali Congress (NC) won 13 seats and led in three, the CPN-UML won just seven seats and led in three, the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won six seats and led in one, the Shrama Shakti Party (SSP) led in three seats, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) won one seat. Among the winners, one Independent candidate also secured a seat.
Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa, 49, who was projected as the party's prime ministerial candidate, lost from Dhanusha-4 constituency to Amaresh Singh of the RSP.
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 leaders of the CPN-UML who lost were 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.
Nepal witnessed approximately 60 per cent voter turnout during the March 5 election to the House of Representatives. The counting of votes started late on Thursday night, and as of Saturday night, the counting was in progress for the remaining 165 constituencies, according to the EC.
The election was closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically unstable Himalayan country to further the developmental partnership between the two sides.
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 so vibrantly. This historic milestone is a proud moment in Nepal's democratic journey," Modi said in a post on X.
He also said that as a close friend and neighbour, India remains committed to working closely with the people of Nepal and its new government to achieve new heights of shared peace, progress, and prosperity.
Oli, who was also projected as the prime ministerial face of the CPN-UML, wished Balen a full five-year tenure for his government in a country that has seen 14 governments in the last 18 years.
"Balen babu, congratulations for the victory. I wish your five-year tenure be successful and full of achievements," Oli wrote in a social media post, attaching a 2022 photo showing him gifting a tabla to Balen after the rapper-turned politician won the mayoral polls in Kathmandu as an Independent candidate.
The RSP, which organised its first election campaign in Janakpur in Madhesh, is poised to achieve a clean sweep of the province.
Balen projected himself as the "son of Madhesh" during canvassing for votes, with his party launching its campaign with the "Ab ki bar Balendra sarkar" (This time there will be Balendra's government) tagline.
Of the total 32 seats in the eight districts of Madhesh province, the RSP has won eight and is leading in 22 other constituencies, according to the EC.
The party made a clean sweep of the Kathmandu Valley, winning all 10 seats in Kathmandu district, two in Bhaktapur, and three in Lalitpur district.
The party's clean sweep of all 15 seats in the valley could possibly be attributed to a massive roadshow led by Balen in all the constituencies on the last day of the election campaign.
RSP Chairman Lamichhane won with a huge margin from the Chitwan-2 constituency, marking his third consecutive victory, with 54,402 votes against his nearest rival, NC's Mina Kumari Kharel, who received 14,564 votes.
According to the EC, former Prime Minister and NCP leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' won from Rukum Purba district by securing 10,240 votes against his rival, Lilamani Gautam of the CPN-UML, who got 3,462 votes.
RPP's Gyanendra Shahi won from the Jumla constituency of Karnali province by defeating his closest rival, Naresh Bhandari of the NCP, and became the only candidate of the pro-monarchist party to have secured 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 was also leading in the proportional-voting system, with the party bagging 11,48,725 votes, followed by the Nepali Congress with 3,79,964 votes. The CPN-UML received 3,04,842 votes, the Nepali Communist Party 1,39,005 votes, the RPP 83,525, and the SSP 46,261 votes.
Of the 275 members of Parliament, 165 are being elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 are being elected through a proportionate method.
Around 3,400 candidates were vying for 165 seats under direct voting and 3,135 candidates 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 the 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."
