Former Kathmandu mayor and rapper Balendra Shah won Jhapa-5 seat defeating KP Sharma Oli by a huge marge of around 50,000 votes. For the unversed, Oli is a former Nepal prime minister whose government was toppled by Gen Z protesters in September last year. As per Nepal's Election Commission, Shah received over 68,000 votes, while over 17,000 votes were polled for the former PM.

Meanwhile, the rapper-turned-politician's newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is heading towards a sweeping victory in Nepal's first general elections held after the violent Gen Z protests..

As per the latest trends, the RSP so far has won 61 seats, followed by Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress with 10 seats. Other prominent parties contesting the polls are KP Sharma Oli's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) and Pushpa Kamal Dahal's CPN (Maoist Centre).

The RSP received significant support during the campaign, and Shah is said to be a strong candidate for prime minister. On the other hand, the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were part of the government toppled by the Gen Z protest last year. Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa is the prime ministerial candidate of his party, whereas the CPN (UML) has projected Oli as its PM face. except for some sporadic minor incidents, the election was reportedly largely peaceful.

The federal parliament has 275 members in total, with 165 elected through direct voting and the remaining 110 chosen through a proportional representation system.

Balen Shah, being seen as a front-runner for the top post in Nepal, was elected mayor of the capital, Kathmandu, in 2022. He later left the post for contesting the polls. The 35-year-old Shah trained as a structural engineer and later gained modest fame as a rap artist, using his music to take on social issues and politics.

Shah won the Kathmandu mayor’s race as an independent, riding a wave of public anger toward traditional political parties. He drew praise for clearing illegal vendors, tackling the city’s chronic garbage problem and pushing road expansions

"Sarvapratham, Mata Janaki ke pranaam," Shah had said while starting his Prime Ministerial campaign from Nepal's Janakpur.

Sumit Sharma is a Deputy News Editor at Times Now with around a decade of experience across print, electronic, and digital media. Previously, he worke...View More

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