Kathmandu’s dynamic mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen Shah, is surging ahead in Nepal’s closely watched parliamentary elections. Early vote counts from March 5 show him dominating in Jhapa-5 constituency, outpacing former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli by a staggering margin of 25,795 votes. With 34,863 votes in his favor so far, Shah’s lead signals a seismic shift in the Himalayan nation’s politics.
Meanwhile, another veteran leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, has secured a decisive victory in Rukum East-1. The former Prime Minister, representing the Nepal Communist Party, clinched 10,240 votes, defeating his nearest rival by 6,778 votes. This win marks Prachanda as the sole survivor from Nepal’s traditional ‘big three’ leaders in these polls.
The elections, held after violent Gen-Z protests toppled Oli’s government in September 2025, are witnessing the rise of the three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Counting continues across the country, but initial trends paint a picture of disillusionment with established parties. In Sarlahi-4, Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa trails far behind RSP’s Amresh Kumar Singh.
RSP’s momentum is fueled by Shah’s reputation as a corruption-busting mayor who transformed Kathmandu. Party spokesperson Manish Jha emphasized on social media that their fight targets corruption, poverty, and poor governance, not rival politicians. ‘People have given us a mandate with great expectations,’ Jha posted on X. Finance Minister Resham Lal Pun also expressed optimism, predicting a stable majority government.
As counting progresses, Nepal stands on the brink of a new political era. Analysts point to RSP’s anti-establishment appeal resonating with youth frustrated by decades of nepotism and inefficiency. Whether this Gen-Z fueled wave sustains remains to be seen, but the early results have already rewritten the electoral map.