Nepal: Balen Shah topples ex-PM KP Sharma Oli, RSP set to form govt

Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is set to form the next government in Nepal after securing a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections and decimating the established parties.  Popularly known as Balen, the 35-year-old RSP Prime Ministerial candidate defeated four-time Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of CPN-UML by a huge margin of about 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency. 
The 2026 elections have seen a notable shift in parliamentary demographics, with 10 women candidates securing seats in the House of Representatives. Demonstrating the party's internal diversity, nine of these winning women represent the RSP, while one belongs to the Nepali Congress. Additionally, the pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) managed a single victory through Gyanendra Shahi in the Jumla constituency, making him the party's sole representative in the lower house so far.
The Election Commission’s latest data shows the Nepali Congress trailing far behind with only 11 confirmed wins, while the CPN-UML has secured just five seats. The RSP’s dominance is further reflected in the proportional voting system, where it has already bagged over 625,000 votes, more than triple the tally of the Nepali Congress. Voters appear to have prioritised the RSP’s platform of anti-corruption, an end to nepotism, and a demand for generational change over the experience of veteran leaders.