"The Rastriya Swatantra Party of Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old former civil engineer and hip-hop artist known simply as Balen, secured 182 seats in the 275-member lower house of parliament, the Election Commission said on Thursday, with 125 won directly and a further 57 through proportional representation."
"The September 2025 protests that reshaped the country's political landscape were initially set off by a government ban on social media, but rapidly swelled into a mass movement against corruption and economic stagnation, leaving at least 77 people dead."
"His path to likely prime minister, from engineer to rapper to Kathmandu's first independent mayor in 2022, reflects a generational shift in a country where more than 40 percent of the nearly 30 million population is under 35, yet whose established party leadership has long remained in its 70s."
The Rastriya Swatantra Party secured a near two-thirds majority in Nepal's parliament with 182 seats, marking a dramatic political transformation. Led by Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old former civil engineer and hip-hop artist, the party won 125 seats directly and 57 through proportional representation. The Nepali Congress finished second with 38 seats, while the Marxist party of four-time Prime Minister Oli won only 25 seats. Shah defeated Oli in his own constituency. The election followed September 2025 youth-led protests against social media bans, corruption, and economic stagnation that killed at least 77 people. Shah's music resonated with these grievances, with his song accumulating over 10 million YouTube views. His rise from engineer to rapper to Kathmandu's first independent mayor reflects a generational shift in a country where over 40 percent of the population is under 35.
#nepal-elections #generational-politics #anti-corruption-movement #youth-uprising #political-transformation
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