UKHRUL: Nepal’s youngest Prime Minister, Balendra Shah (35), was sworn in after his party secured a two-thirds majority in the March 5 elections, defeating K.P. Sharma Oli.
A ‘rapper-turned-politician’ and a structural engineer by training, was appointed by President Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday. His three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won 182 seats in the 245-member parliament, marking an end to the transition triggered by last September’s anti-corruption Gen Z protest, in which 76 people were killed.
Shah shared his first public statement with a song titled “Jay Mahakali” (Victory to Goddess Mahakali). “This time, we will conquer the world. This Nepal does not fear,” Shah raps. The music video gained more than three million views in less than 24 hours.
“The strength of unity is my national pride,” the lyrics continue, as visuals from the video show people of all ages cheering him on and waving the flag of Nepal high during his election campaign.
ALSO READ: On Its Independence Day, Bangladesh Looks Back at How Tripura Stood Firm in 1971