KATHMANDU: Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s party gained leads in early counting in Nepal’s general election, far outpacing his other rivals, including the country’s former prime minister who was forced to resign after a historic youth-led uprising last year.
Shah, 35, former mayor of the capital city of Kathmandu, has dominated the race to become Nepal’s PM during the campaign, gaining popularity across the country.

Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, which was founded three years ago, was leading in 37 seats while former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist – UML) was leading in three, early counting trends from the election commission showed on Friday morning.