Balendra Shah sworn in as Nepal’s youngest ever Prime Minister

Kathmandu: Balendra Shah, the parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal. The 35-year-old leader is the youngest elected Prime Minister of Nepal.

President Ram Chandra Poudel on Friday appointed former Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Shah—popularly known as Balen—to the post as per Article 76(1) of the Constitution, the President’s Office said in a statement.

On Thursday, the RSP, which secured a sweeping victory in the recent parliamentary elections with a near two-thirds majority, elected Shah as its parliamentary party leader, paving the way for him to become the country’s 47th Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Shah is scheduled to take the oath of office at 12:34 pm at the President’s Office on Friday, accompanied by Hindu rituals. As per the plan, seven conch players will perform Shankha Naad, a ritual believed to ensure the success of auspicious beginnings.

Simultaneously, other rituals will be performed as he takes the oath. A group of 108 Batuks (Vedic priests) will recite Swasti Shanti, while 16 Buddhist monks will chant the Ashtamangala, both considered auspicious in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

The 35-year-old former mayor is one of the youngest prime ministers Nepal has ever had. A majority of lawmakers elected in the recent elections represent younger age groups, marking a generational shift in Nepal’s politics.

A popular figure among the younger generation, Shah’s entry into national politics on December 28 last year is believed to have contributed to a swing in votes for the RSP. The nearly four-year-old party ran its election campaign by declaring Shah as its prime ministerial candidate and secured a thumping victory in the March 5 parliamentary elections, winning 182 out of 275 seats in the House of Representatives.

Shah defeated former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli by a wide margin of 49,614 votes, securing 68,348 votes against Oli’s 18,734 in Jhapa-5 in eastern Nepal. This marks the highest number of votes secured by any candidate in Nepal’s parliamentary elections since 1991.

Shah entered politics in 2022, when he ran for mayor of Kathmandu and won as an independent candidate.

Born on April 27, 1990, in Kathmandu into a Madhesi family that valued education and culture, Shah completed his bachelor’s degree in Kathmandu before pursuing a master’s degree in Structural Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in India.

His academic background in engineering gave him a practical understanding of infrastructure, urban development, and public works, which helped shape his governance approach during his tenure as mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

IANS