Nepal Elections: Balendra Shah Trounces KP Oli With RSP On Cusp Of Historic Victory

Last Updated:March 07, 2026, 23:30 IST

Nepal Elections: Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is inching towards a historic victory in Nepal's 275-member House of Representatives.

Nepal Election 2026: As counting is still underway in Nepal, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is inching towards a historic victory in the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament.

The poll marks Nepal’s first general election since Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9 forced the resignation of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and led to the dissolution of Parliament. The RSP has maintained a commanding lead in Nepal’s proportional representation vote count on Saturday.

Nepal follows a mixed electoral system, under which 165 members of the House of Representatives are elected through the first-past-the-post system. The remaining 110 are chosen through proportional representation.

RSP On Cusp Of Historic Victory

So far, the RSP has clinched victory in 78 seats, and is leading in 44 others, shattering the dominance of parties who have reigned over Nepal’s political battleground for decades . The Nepali Congress and KP Sharma Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) – CPN-UML – lagged far behind, with 12 and five seats respectively.

The RSP has also dominated key constituencies across the Kathmandu Valley, consolidating its position as the leading force in the elections and reflecting widespread voter support.

READ MORE: After The ‘Landslide’: What Balen Shah’s Mega Mandate Means For India-Nepal Relations

According to The Himalayan Times, projections indicate that the party is set to win 183 of the 275 seats in the House of Representatives, just short of a two-thirds majority. If this is true, the RSP would form a government entirely on its own, bringing an end to the coalition politics that have frequently destabilised Nepal’s governance.

This would also mark a dramatic realignment of political power in Nepal’s democratic history, where a party that contested its first general election in 2022 is poised to form the government alone while major parties have reduced to a fraction of their strength.

Balen Shah Defeats Oli

The election results have fared worse for former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was ousted in last year’s elections. Oli was defeated by Balendra Shah in Jhapa-5 constituency by a massive margin of 49,614 votes.

Shah secured 68,348 votes, while Oli managed only 18,734 votes in the constituency widely regarded as the election’s epicentre. Oli had previously defeated Nepali Congress leader Khagendra Adhikari by a margin of 28,576 votes in the 2022 parliamentary elections.

This marked a stunning political failure for Oli, who has been a dominant figure in Nepal’s politics. The victory is also deeply personal for Shah, who chose to contest Jhapa-5 specifically to take on Oli as part of his anti-establishment agenda. Oli had been elected from Jhapa in six out of eight elections since 1991.

The Nepali Congress, currently in second place, has already conceded defeat. Nepali Communist Party’s coordinator and former PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal is the only top political figure who won from Rukum East, with others – including Oli – being defeated by huge margins.

Youngest PM In Nepal

Balen Shah is on course to become the youngest Prime Minister of Nepal at the age of 44. Popular among the younger generation due to his career as a rapper, Shah began his political career by getting elected as the Mayor of Kathmandu as an independent candidate in 2022.

In 2023, Shah was listed in the TIME Magazine among its “Top 100 Emerging Leaders." He emerged as the centre of power during the Gen Z protests in 2025, after which he resigned from the position of Kathmandu Metropolitan Mayor on January 18 and sought to compete directly against Oli.

PM Modi Congratulates Nepal

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people and the Government of Nepal for the successful conduct of elections and vowed to continue to work closely with the new government.

“I warmly congratulate the people and government of Nepal on the successful and peaceful 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," PM Modi said in a post on X.

News world Nepal Elections: Balendra Shah Trounces KP Oli With RSP On Cusp Of Historic Victory

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