Balen Shah Defeats KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa-5 by Huge Margin

Jhapa: Senior Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader Balendra Shah (Balen) has secured a massive victory in Jhapa Constituency-5, defeating CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli by a margin of 49,614 votes.

According to the vote count results, Shah received 68,348 votes, while Oli secured 18,734 votes in the high-profile constituency that had attracted nationwide political attention.

Shah’s victory became one of the most talked-about outcomes of the election as the RSP had earlier announced him as its candidate for prime minister.

Before this election, Oli had won the same constituency in the 2022 parliamentary election, defeating Nepali Congress leader Khagendra Adhikari by a margin of 28,576 votes.

Balendra Shah previously served as the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, a position he held from May 2022 until January 2026, when he resigned to pursue national politics.

Born in Naradevi, Kathmandu, Shah comes from a Madhesi family and is the son of the late Ram Narayan Shah, a well-known Ayurvedic physician.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Himalayan WhiteHouse Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), India.

Shah also contributed to rescue efforts and structural mapping after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, before entering politics.

Apart from his political career, Shah is also known as a rapper, songwriter, and music producer, beginning his music journey in 2012.

Initially associated with the Bibeksheel Party, he gained national recognition after winning the 2022 Kathmandu mayoral election as an independent candidate. He later joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party in late 2025, leading the party’s campaign in the 2026 general elections and emerging as a major contender for Nepal’s premiership.