Kathmandu, March 7 Balendra Shah, a rapper turned politician, and his newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) are on track to win a landslide victory in Nepal's first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests, shattering the dominance of established political parties in the politically fragile nation.
According to data from the Election Commission available from 161 of the total 165 constituencies, the RSP has won 27 seats, securing a clean sweep in all 10 constituencies in the Kathmandu district in Thursday's elections.
The Nepali Congress has won five seats, the Nepali Communist Party has won two seats, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) has won one seat.
The RSP is also leading in another 97 constituencies, with the Nepali Congress, the Nepali Communist Party, and CPN (UML) leading in 10 constituencies each, while the Shram Sanskriti Party is leading in five. Others are leading in two constituencies, according to Election Commission figures up to 10 am.
Balendra Shah, who was the mayor of Kathmandu until recently, has received 39,284 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency against four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair K P Sharma Oli in his stronghold. Oli has received 10,293 votes so far.
Popularly known as "Balen," the 35-year-old engineer is expected to be the next prime minister of Nepal, reflecting a public mood of rejection of established parties. Nepal has had 14 governments in the last 18 years.
The election is being closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to further the developmental partnership between the two sides.
"We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to further strengthen the robust, multifaceted ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in Delhi on Thursday.
He said that India has "consistently supported peace, progress, and stability in Nepal, and, in keeping with our commitment, has provided logistical supplies as per request from the Government of Nepal for these elections."
Out of a total of 275 members of Parliament, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional method.
In the Nepal elections, about 18.9 million voters were eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, with around 60 per cent of them turning out to vote on Thursday.
Around 3,400 candidates are vying for 165 seats through direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportional voting.
The Gen Z youth, through their 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, which enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
Balen emerged as a popular choice to lead the interim government after the Gen Z youth ousted the Oli-led coalition government.
However, Balen declined to lead the interim administration, saying he would rather lead the government by contesting the parliamentary election for a full term.
In January, he joined the RSP, which was formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, and was soon declared the party's prime ministerial candidate. The RSP received significant support during the campaign.
Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa was the prime ministerial candidate of his party, while the CPN (UML) projected Oli as its PM face. Both the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were part of the government that was ousted by the Gen Z last year.
According to the Election Commission, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda won from the Rukum Purba district. He secured 10,240 votes against his rival Lilamani Gautam of the CPN (UML), who got 3,462 votes.
After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.
The major issues raised by the Gen Z include anti-corruption, good governance, ending nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.
