35-year-old rapper Balender Shah’s newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured a landslide victory in the latest general election, with Shah securing the highest vote total ever recorded. Shah contested from the Jhapa-5 constituency against Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, a four-time former prime minister and chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), who received just 18,734 votes, securing 68,348 votes.

Formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, the centrist party has already won 117 of the 165 directly elected seats, while it is leading in another eight in the House of Representatives elections, according to the Election Commission (EC). The EC has announced the results for 152 seats of 165 constituencies. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) of ousted Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has won just seven seats and is leading in three. The Nepali Congress has won 17 seats, standing at distant second.

According to the EC, former prime minister and NCP leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' won from Rukum Purba district by securing 10,240 votes against his rival, Lilamani Gautam of the CPN-UML, who got 3,462 votes.

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Balen Shah Set To Become Nepal's Prime Minister

Balen is most likely to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal, representing the resentment against the established parties. If Balen assumed power, he would be the youngest PM and first from Madhesi to hold the post. Madhesi is an ethnic group from the southern terai plain.

Balen's campaign was modern and methodical. He relied on social media campaigns and funding from the Nepali Diaspora.

What Drove Voters To Balen

According to an analysis published in Kathmandu Post, Balen’s language of accountability and refusal to join established parties attracted voters towards him, besides his reach in the Gen Z population. To contest the general election, Balen resigned from the Kathmandu mayoral post. His song Nepal Haseko’, Nepal Smiling, got more than 10 million YouTube views during last year's protests.

The Gen Z Protest Effect

The elections were held after the Gen Z protest in September 2025, who were anti-corruption and raised demands like good governance, an end to nepotism, a generational change in the political leadership, etc.

Sunil Babu Pant, former MP and a political analyst, said, "The victory of the RSP in the March 5 election and the expectation that Balen Shah could emerge as Nepal's next prime minister reflect the people's deep-rooted frustration with the old political order and their hope for a new direction."

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Balen will also face a complex geopolitical challenge, Pant said, adding, "He must prove that he is not a puppet of any external power, western or otherwise. Nepal's leadership must carefully balance relations with all global actors and pursue an independent foreign policy that prioritises national interest."