Rapper turned politician Balendra Shah is all set to become Nepal’s youngest prime minister

Balendra Shah Thirty-five-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah will become the youngest prime minister in Nepal’s history as the vote count for the country’s parliamentary elections nears completion.

With about two percent of ballots left to be counted on Wednesday, Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured a lead that is expected to give it control of the new parliament.

Shah’s rapid rise—from mayor of the capital, Kathmandu, to the nation’s highest political office—marks one of the most striking political turnarounds in Nepal’s recent history.

The election on March 5 was the first national election since youth-led anti-corruption protests forced the collapse of the previous government in September.

In a symbolic victory, Shah defeated four-time former prime minister KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency. Oli’s Marxist-led government was ousted from power during last year’s unrest.

During the campaign and voting, videos showing voters imitating Shah’s signature dance moves circulated widely on social media, reflecting his strong appeal among young voters.

The election filled 275 seats in Nepal’s House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament. Of this number, 165 members are directly elected from electoral districts, while the remaining 110 seats will be allocated through proportional representation.

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Based on official results so far, the RSP secured 125 of the 165 seats decided by direct voting, giving the party an overwhelming lead.

In the proportional representation election, the party also holds the largest share of the vote—nearly half of all ballots that have been counted—and only 200,000 votes remain to be processed.

“We have almost completed the counting now,” Election Commission spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told AFP. “We will have the final number of PR seats soon.”

If current trends persist, the RSP is expected to win a total of around 176 seats—a huge number, but slightly less than the 183 seats needed to achieve a supermajority on the council.

However, the final seat count could still change depending on how votes cast for minor parties that fail to meet the threshold are treated in the proportional representation formula.

Even though the election results are clear, the official process of inaugurating a new prime minister may take several days.

Constitutional law expert Bipin Adhikari explained that the transition would begin after the KPU submitted its official report to the president.

“After the commission submits its report to the president, he will ask RSP lawmakers to name a candidate for prime minister,” said Adhikari, a professor at Kathmandu University. “Only after that will the appointment be made.”

Meanwhile, the once-dominant Nepali Congress, which had the highest number of seats in the previous parliament, managed to win only 18 seats in the constituency, while Oli’s Marxist party won only nine seats in direct voting.