Kathmandu, March 27: Balendra Shah has been appointed as the 47th Prime Minister of Nepal, following a decisive electoral mandate for the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
President Ram Chandra Poudel formally appointed Shah under Article 76(1) of the Constitution, a day after he was elected as the parliamentary party leader of the RSP.
The 35-year-old leader, widely known as “Balen,” is among the youngest prime ministers in Nepal’s history and represents a broader generational shift in the country’s political landscape. The RSP secured a near two-thirds majority in the recent parliamentary elections, winning 182 out of 275 seats in the House of Representatives.
Shah is scheduled to take oath at the President’s Office in a ceremony blending Hindu and Buddhist traditions, including rituals such as Shankha Naad, Swasti Shanti recitations by Vedic priests, and Ashtamangala chants by Buddhist monks.
A former mayor of Kathmandu, Shah first rose to prominence in 2022 after winning the mayoral election as an independent candidate. His entry into national politics significantly boosted the RSP’s electoral prospects, with the party campaigning on his leadership.
In the parliamentary polls, Shah defeated former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli by a margin of 49,614 votes in Jhapa-5, recording one of the highest vote counts in Nepal’s electoral history.
Born in 1990, Shah has an academic background in structural engineering, having studied at Visvesvaraya Technological University. His professional expertise in infrastructure and urban planning shaped his governance approach during his tenure as mayor.
His elevation to the top office signals a shift towards younger leadership and reform-oriented politics, with expectations of policy focus on governance efficiency, infrastructure development, and institutional change in Nepal.
