JHAPA, Mar 7: Nepal's rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah grinned and flashed a V for victory sign on Saturday as Election Commission officials confirmed he had defeated veteran leader KP Sharma Oli in their parliamentary constituency.
The 35-year-old's party is also seemingly headed for a landslide victory nationally.
His victory over the 74-year-old Marxist leader -- and his rise from the capital's mayor to potential prime minister -- marks one of the most dramatic results in recent Nepali politics.
The first-time parliamentary lawmaker toured the streets of his new constituency on Saturday evening, wearing his signature dark sunglasses and waving from the sunroof of a car in a victory parade through cheering crowds who chanted "Balen" -- as he is better known.
Shah, who did not make a speech, won more than three times the votes than four-time prime minister Oli.
The high-stakes election on Thursday came six months after deadly protests toppled the government led by Oli, with at least 77 people killed.
The September 2025 youth-led demonstrations, under a loose Gen Z banner, began over a brief social media ban but quickly tapped into broader grievances over corruption and a struggling economy.
Nationwide, Shah's centrist RastriyaSwatantra Party (RSP) was on track to win a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, according to early trends issued by the Election Commission, although counting still has far to go. �"AFP
