Nepal's rapper-mayor Balen Shah surges ahead in polls with Gen Z backing
India Today
Balen Shah is locked in a contest with KP Oli in Jhapa, a race that has drawn national attention as a symbol of the battle between Nepal's political old guard and a new generation of leaders.
A day after Nepal voted to elect its next prime minister, the country seems to be heading to create history as rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is likely to emerge as the face the voters may just have placed their trust in. Early counting trends from Nepal’s general elections show a steep surge for Balen’s Rastriya Swatantrata Party (RSP) taking a commanding lead in the race for the House of Representatives.
Initial trends on Friday morning indicated the party was ahead in 52 of the 165 seats for which candidates are elected directly. This is far outpacing its rivals and signalling a potential political realignment in the Himalayan nation.
The main challenger, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML) led by former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, was trailing significantly with leads in just four seats.
The Nepali Congress, which has projected party president Gagan Kumar Thapa as its prime ministerial candidate, was ahead in five seats, while the Nepali Communist Party had secured a lead in only one constituency.
Another former Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachand), is also in the fray from the Rukum (East) constituency.
Shah himself is locked in a closely watched direct contest with Oli in Jhapa, a race that has drawn national attention as a symbol of the battle between Nepal’s political old guard and a new generation of leaders. As the trends showed, Shah was miles ahead of Oli in Jhapa, leading by nearly 1,100 votes, with the former PM accounting for close to 4,00.
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