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A Gen-z rapper till recently and now set to be become the next the prime minister of Nepal, Balendra Shah defeated four-time Nepalese PM K P Sharma Oli by a huge margin.

Leading the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) the rapper-turned-politician ‘Balen,’ defeated Oli the leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) — CPN-UML — by a huge margin of about 50,000 votes in Jhapa-5 constituency.

Balendra Shah, 35, secured 68,348 votes against 74-year-old Oli’s 18,734, the Election Commission (EC) said.

The RSP, which was formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, has won 62 seats out of the 78 seats for which results have been declared by 6:30 pm, according to the Election Commission (EC).

RSP’s seats include a clean sweep in all 10 constituencies of Kathmandu district even as it is leading in 60 seats across the country, the EC data showed.

Legacy parties were far behind in convincing voters for whom the major issues included fighting corruption and an end to nepotism apart from a generational change in political leadership of the Himalayan nation.

The Nepali Congress (NC) won nine and was leading in nine seats; the CPN-(UML) won just three seats and is leading in nine; the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won two seats and is leading in five, the Shrama Shakti Party (SSP) was leading in three seats, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) won one seat, the EC data showed. Among the winners is one independent.

This time around the elections in Nepal recorded 60 per cent voter turnout. The day long polling took place on 5th of March 2026 to the House of Representatives.

The counting of votes started late Thursday night and as of 5 pm Saturday, counting was in progress in 162 constituencies, the Election Commission said.

The election was being closely watched by India, which is hoping for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to take forward the developmental partnership between the two sides.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the people and government of Nepal for the successful conduct of elections. “It is heartening to see my Nepali sisters and brothers exercise their democratic rights so vibrantly. This historic milestone is a proud moment in Nepal’s democratic journey,” Modi said in a post on X.

Modi also said that as a close friend and neighbour, India remains steadfast in its commitment to working closely with the people of Nepal and its new government to scale new heights of shared peace, progress and prosperity.