Nepal Election: Ex‑Rapper Balen Shah’s Party Wins Landslide

Nepal’s general election held on March 5, 2026 delivered a dramatic shift in the country’s political landscape, with voters handing a sweeping victory to the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by former rapper and Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah.

According to official results released by Nepal’s Election Commission, the RSP secured 125 directly elected seats in the 275‑member House of Representatives. The party gained an additional 57 seats through the proportional representation system, bringing its total to 182 seats and giving it a commanding parliamentary majority. The long‑established Nepali Congress party finished a distant second with 38 seats.

The election was Nepal’s first national vote since the youth‑led protests of September 2025, when demonstrations against corruption and governance failures spread across the country and forced the previous government to step down. The uprising, largely driven by Generation Z activists, reshaped the political environment and fueled support for new political movements.

Balendra Shah, widely known by his stage name “Balen,” emerged as a prominent political figure during the protest movement. Analysts say the strong performance of the RSP reflects widespread frustration with traditional political elites and signals a potential new phase in Nepal’s political and economic governance.