<figure id="attachment_3296152" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3296152" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3296152" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/b622d120-afp-balendra-shah-and-kp-sharma-oli.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3296152" class="wp-caption-text">Balendra Shah (left) led with more than 47,500 votes, with ousted prime minister KP Sharma Oli trailing behind on 12,600. (AFP pic)</figcaption></figure>
KATHMANDU: Nepal&#8217;s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah held an unassailable lead against ousted prime minister KP Sharma Oli on Saturday in the highly contested face-off in Nepal&#8217;s southeastern district of Jhapa, according to data from the Election Commission.
Shah led with more than 47,500 votes, with Oli trailing behind on 12,600.
With about 70% of votes counted, AFP calculations show Shah has passed the winning threshold.
If the trends are confirmed by the vote count, 35-year-old Shah&#8217;s victory over the veteran Marxist leader &#8212; and his rise from city mayor to potential prime minister &#8212; would mark one of the most dramatic results in recent Nepali politics.
Shah&#8217;s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party looked set to win by a landslide in parliamentary polls, according to Election Commission trends Saturday, but with counting still far to go.

MatchPoint Times

Nepal’s Balendra Shah holds unassailable poll lead for seat

With about 70% of votes counted, calculations show Balendra Shah has passed the winning threshold in the highly contested face-off in the southeastern district of Jhapa.

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