Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Nepal’s youngest Prime Minister, Balendra (Balen) Shah, 35, on Friday took the oath of office after his party won a landslide victory in elections earlier this month, ending political uncertainties caused by a youth-led uprising in September 2025 that toppled the KP Sharma Oli government.
Balendra, a rapper-turned-politician, led his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) to a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, securing a nearly two-thirds majority.
He was sworn-in by President Ram Chandra Poudel at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Kathmandu, marking the end of the transition triggered by September 2025 uprising, led by Gen. Z, which overthrew the KP Sharma Oli government and installed an interim administration led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki.
Earlier, President Poudel appointed Shah as Prime Minister under Article 76(1) of the Constitution, following his RSP securing a majority in the March 5 elections.
This is the first time the Article was invoked since the current Constitution was promulgated in 2015.
Shah had defeated Oli in Jhapa-5, his home constituency.
A 15-member Cabinet was also formed immediately after Shah’s appointment. He will oversee the Defense and Industry portfolios.
The RSP, formed barely four years ago, emerged as the largest party in the March 5 elections, winning 182 seats in Nepal’s 275-member House of Representatives, just two shy of a two‑thirds majority.
Shah, a rapper and structural engineer by training, and a former mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, joined the RSP only at the end of December 2025, four months after the Gen. Z-led protests by Nepali youth calling for an end to corruption and the establishment of clean governance and accountability.
PM Modi congratulates
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shah on being sworn in as Nepal’s new PM, saying that he looks forward to working closely with him to deepen India-Nepal ties for the mutual benefit of both nations.
“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 greater heights for the mutual benefit of our two peoples,” Modi said in a message on ‘X’.
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