Rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah has emerged victorious in the House of Representatives elections in eastern Nepal’s Jhapa-5, defeating former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli by a significant margin. Shah, representing the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), secured 68,348 votes, surpassing Oli’s 18,734 votes, marking a historic win with the highest vote count in Nepal since 1991.
This defeat is not unfamiliar to Oli, who leads the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), as he had previously lost in Jhapa in 2008 to a Maoist candidate. Despite skepticism surrounding Shah’s choice to contest in Oli’s stronghold, the RSP’s electoral success has shattered expectations, winning 61 seats and leading in 61 more out of 165 under the First-Past-the-Post system.
Shah, a former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, entered politics relatively recently, following a trend of public disillusionment with traditional parties due to perceived inefficiency and corruption. His entry into politics in 2022, marked by a mayoral win, paved the way for the RSP’s establishment by figures like media personality Rabi Lamichhane.
The RSP’s rapid rise to become the fourth-largest party in the House of Representatives in the 2022 elections reflects a shift towards newer leaders like Shah, known for his outspoken criticism of established political figures on social media. With the party’s potential supermajority in the House, Shah is poised to lead the government and enact the RSP’s agenda, potentially reshaping Nepal’s political landscape.
