Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah– popularly known as Balen–has taken the oath as Nepal’s prime minister after sweeping the first election since deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government last year. The 35-year-old was elected as the leader of the parliamentary party of the Rastriya Swatantra Party on Thursday, paving his way to become Nepal’s youngest elected prime minister.
“I, Balendra Shah, in the name of the country and people, pledge that I will be loyal to the constitution… and fulfil my duty as the prime minister,” Shah said, dressed in skin-tight trousers, a matching jacket, his signature black Nepali cloth cap and sunglasses.
President Ram Chandra Poudel administered the oath of office after a ceremony involving scores of chanting Hindu priests and red-robed Buddhist monks. Shah is the first Madhesi — a person of the southern plains bordering India — in decades to lead the Himalayan nation that is wedged between Asian giants India and China.
Nepal chose former Kathmandu mayor and fresher Shah and his RSP to form the next government, decimating the traditional parties in the first general elections since last year’s violent Gen Z protests that sought generational change and a corruption-free regime. His RSP won 182 seats in the 275-member parliament in the March 5 election.
The Nepali Congress party, the country’s oldest party, became a distant second group in parliament with just 38 seats. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) of Oli, who was forced to resign after the Gen Z unrest, controls 25 members.
The youth-led protests were fuelled by a lack of jobs and endemic corruption in the country of 30 million people, where a fifth of the population lives in poverty and an estimated 1,500 people leave the country daily for work abroad. Political instability in the country has also been a bane, with 32 governments taking office since 1990 and none of them completing a five-year term.
PM Modi Sends Wishes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Shah on his appointment as the new PM.
“Warm congratulations to Balendra Shah on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Nepal,” he said in a post on X.
“Your appointment reflects the trust reposed in your leadership by the people of Nepal. I look forward to working closely with you to take India-Nepal friendship and cooperation to even greater heights for the mutual benefit of our two peoples,” PM Modi added.
Warm congratulations to Mr. Balendra Shah on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
Your appointment reflects the trust reposed in your leadership by the people of Nepal. I look forward to working closely with you to take India-Nepal friendship and cooperation to even…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 27, 2026
Ministers In Balen Shah’s Cabinet
RSP has also finalised the list of 14 ministers who are going to be appointed in the government led by Shah. According to a Kathmandu Post report, the home ministry will be allocated to Sudan Gurung, who rose to prominence during the Gen Z movement.
RSP vice-chair Swarnim Wagle will likely get the finance portfolio. Shishir Khanal, who heads RSP’s foreign affairs department, will be the minister for foreign affairs. Writer Khadka Raj (Ganesh) Paudel and journalist Pratibha Rawal are also among the chosen names.
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