Balen Shah wins big in Nepal polls

09-Mar-2026

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Balendra Shah has delivered a stunning political upset by defeating former prime minister KP Sharma Oli by nearly 50,000 votes in Nepal’s high-profile Jhapa-5 constituency. 

The young leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party secured 68,348 votes, while KP Sharma Oli, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), received 18,734 votes, according to final election results. The margin of victory stood at 49,614 votes.

Counting trends released by the Election Commission of Nepal showed that the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, led by Balendra Shah, was on course to win a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives.