Kathmandu/New Delhi, March 27. Signaling a major change in Nepal’s politics, Balendra Shah (Balen) took oath as the country’s Prime Minister on Friday. President Ramchandra Paudel administered him the oath of office and secrecy in a ceremony organized at Sheetal Niwas.
Balen Shah, 36, has been appointed Prime Minister under Article 76(1) of the Constitution as the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives. This is considered to be the first appointment under this provision after the Constitution implemented in 2015. Also, this is the first time in the history of Nepal that a person from the Madhesi community has become the Prime Minister. Balen Shah’s political journey has been very unusual. After gaining recognition as a rapper and engineer, he entered politics with an independent image. His victory as Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City in the year 2022 brought him national recognition. After this, his party got a huge majority in the general elections and he became the Prime Minister as soon as he reached Parliament for the first time.
He defeated former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli by a huge margin from Jhapa-5 seat. After becoming the Prime Minister, Shah also formed his cabinet, in which Swarnim Wagle has been given the responsibility of Finance, Sudan Gurung of Home and Shishir Khanal of Foreign Ministry. On this occasion, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi congratulated Balen Shah and said that his appointment shows the confidence of the people of Nepal. He expressed confidence that the traditional friendship and cooperation between India and Nepal will be taken to new heights.
In his message, Modi said he looked forward to working closely with Balen Shah to further strengthen bilateral relations in the mutual interest of both countries.
According to analysts, Balen Shah’s coming to power is considered to be the beginning of a new era in Nepal’s politics, where young, tech-savvy and change-minded leadership has received public support rather than traditional parties.
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