Balen Shah’s RSP Surges in Early Counts, Outpacing Former PM Oli
Nepal’s 2026 general elections are delivering a seismic verdict and the youth aren’t whispering anymore. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra “Balen” Shah, is commanding early leads in 47 constituencies, with one seat already confirmed. The party’s PM candidate is personally outpacing CPN-UML veteran and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency, a result few establishment figures would have predicted a year ago.
The RSP’s momentum is no accident. Born from the fury of Nepal’s Gen Z protest movement which successfully toppled the previous government the party fielded nine young candidates, including 29-year-old city planner Sasmit Pokharel, a former Shah aide who declared: “The old leaders have proven themselves incompetent and arrogant.”
Elsewhere, former PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal leads early counts in Rukum East, while turnout across Nepal settled at 58% the lowest since 1991, suggesting both disillusionment and selective, purpose-driven voting.
One seat won. Forty-six leads still live. Nepal is watching the scoreboard like never before.
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