Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's RSP is all set to form the government in Nepal, after securing a sweeping victory in the crucial general election, the results of which were declared on Sunday (March 8, 2026), decimating the established parties in the politically-fragile Himalayan country.
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Popularly known as "Balen", the 35-year-old prime-ministerial candidate of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) defeated four-time former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, the chair of Nepal's legacy party — the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) — by a huge margin of about 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency.
Rastriya Swatantra Party – the bell strikes
Mr. Balen secured 68,348 votes against 74-year-old Oli's 18,734, the Election Commission (EC) said.
