KATHMANDU, Nepal

Balendra Shah, a former mayor of Kathmandu, is poised to become Nepal's new prime minister, following his Rastriya Swatantra Party's (RSP) strong showing in the crucial general elections, early official results showed on Saturday.

Popularly known as Balen, he defeated ousted Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in his home constituency, eastern district of Jhapa, securing 68,348 votes out of the total 106,372 votes cast. Oli secured 18,734 votes, official results showed.

Balen, 35, had resigned from the Kathmandu mayoral position to contest the election against Oli. In 2022, structural engineer Balen was elected mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City on an independent ticket, defeating heavyweights from major political parties -- Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist).

With the dissolution of the House of Representatives, he resigned from the position, joined the RSP as its senior leader and decided to contest the election against Oli. To test his popularity, the RSP named him as the new prime ministerial candidate.

So far, RSP has won 73 seats of the total 91 election constituencies counted, according to results released by the election commission. The party is also commanding a lead in an additional 49 election constituencies.

Nepal held general elections on Thursday to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, with approximately 60% of voters casting their ballots. The general elections were held for the first time since mass protests overthrew then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's government.

A party, or a coalition, needs a simple majority of 138 seats to form a government.

Oli’s government was ousted last September at the peak of mass protests, which left 77 people dead.

Oli, in a post on his Facebook account, congratulated Balen on his victory. “Balen Babu, congratulations on winning the election. I wish you a smooth and successful five-year tenure."

Indian premier extends congratulations

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the successful and peaceful conduct of elections in Nepal was a “proud moment” in the country’s “democratic journey.”

“It is heartening to see my Nepali sisters and brothers exercise their democratic rights so vibrantly,” Modi wrote on the US social media platform X.

Extending his congratulations to Nepal, he said: “This historic milestone is a proud moment in Nepal’s democratic journey.”

He has assured of working together with the new government. “As a close friend and neighbour, India remains steadfast in its commitment to working closely with the people of Nepal and their new Government to scale new heights of shared peace, progress and prosperity.”