Balendra Shah defeats PM Oli by huge votes, on his way to becoming PM

Kathmandu. In the elections in Nepal, RSP’s Balendra Shah has stepped on the path of forming the government by defeating PM KP Oli by a huge margin. He dealt a blow to traditional political parties in the first general election held last year after violent ‘Gen Z’ protests demanding generational change and corruption-free governance. Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah ‘Balen’, who is the PM candidate of Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), defeated Nepal Communist Party-CPN-UML president Oli by a huge margin of around 50,000 votes in Jhapa-5 constituency.
According to media reports, Nepal Election Commission said that 35-year-old Balen secured 68,348 votes against 18,734 votes for 74-year-old Oli. According to the results declared last night, RSP, formed by Ravi Lamichhane in 2022, has won 70 seats out of the 87 seats declared so far. The RSP swept Kathmandu district by winning all 10 seats and was ahead in 52 seats across the country, the election body’s data said.
Nearly 60 percent voting took place in the House of Representatives elections held on March 5 in Nepal. The counting of votes began late on Thursday night and was continuing in 162 constituencies till 5 pm on Saturday. The election was being closely watched by India, which is hoping for a stable government in the politically unstable Himalayan country to further the developmental partnership between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Oli said in his social media post that Balen Babu, congratulations for the victory. 14 governments have been formed in Nepal in the last 18 years. Congratulating Balen, Oli said, I wish that your five-year tenure is uninterrupted, successful and hearty congratulations. Oli attached a photo from 2022 in which he is seen presenting a tabla to rapper-turned-political leader Balen, when Balen won the Kathmandu mayor’s election as an independent candidate. RSP had declared Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ as its PM candidate and launched its first election campaign from Janakpur in Madhes. The party seems to be sweeping away other parties in this province.