Nepal's Politics Sees Major Shift as Rapper-Turned-Politician Wins Big Victory

Nepal's politics has seen a major change. Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah (Balen) has won a big victory by defeating former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Balen is the prime ministerial candidate of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). He won by a huge margin of about 50 thousand votes from Jhapa-5 seat in Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. Balen, 35, got 68,348 votes, while 74-year-old Oli got 18,734 votes. After this victory, RSP's chances of forming the next government in Nepal have increased. Initial trends have come to 165 seats. Out of 78 seats declared till 6.30 pm, 62 seats have been won, while 60 seats are leading. Balen Shah was first elected as an independent mayor of Kathmandu in 2022. He has a lot of popularity among the youth and is considered to be the face of new politics apart from traditional political parties. In September last year, there were two days of protests against corruption and social media ban in Nepal. The proposal to form a coalition government led by RSP in Nepal was dropped by the youth led by Shah.