Former Prime Minister and Communist Party of Nepal (UML) chairman
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Defeated in his own constituency; party reduced to single digits in parliament
Two parties had traded control of Nepal's government for more than 30 years. On March 9-10, 2026, final vote counting confirmed the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)—founded less than four years ago and led by 35-year-old former rapper Balendra 'Balen' Shah—won 125 of 165 directly elected parliamentary seats, with proportional representation results projecting 183-185 total seats and a two-thirds supermajority. Shah set a historic record by securing 68,348 votes in Jhapa-5, the highest vote total ever recorded in Nepal's parliamentary election history.
Updated 4 days ago
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