Nepal's PM designate Balendra shah pledged to strengthen Historic India-Nepal Ties

Rastriya Swatantra Party’s (RSP) prime ministerial candidate Balendra Shah on Tuesday expressed confidence in strengthening the “historic” ties between Nepal and India , saying the relationship would be made more outcome-oriented in the coming days.

The 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, who is set to become Nepal’s youngest elected executive head and its first Madhesi prime minister, made the remarks in a social media post while thanking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for congratulating his party on its electoral success.

“Thank you for the good wishes, honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji,” Shah said, adding that both countries would work together to further strengthen the close and multi-dimensional relations between them.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party , formed in 2022, has emerged as the largest party in Nepal’s parliamentary elections. By March 9–10, the party had secured around 125 of the 165 seats under the First-Past-the-Post system in the House of Representatives, placing it in a strong position to form the next government.

Prime Minister Modi on Monday congratulated RSP chief Rabi Lamichhane and senior party leader Shah on the victory and reiterated India’s commitment to work with the new leadership for mutual prosperity and progress.

Shah also recorded a major political upset by defeating four-time prime minister K P Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency, considered a stronghold of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) .

Meanwhile, Shah congratulated the Indian government and people on their cricket team’s recent triumph in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup , where India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the final held in Ahmedabad.

Nepal’s House of Representatives has a total of 275 seats , with 165 members elected through direct voting under the FPTP system and 110 through proportional representation (PR) . While PR vote counting has been completed, the final allocation of seats to parties is expected to be announced by the Election Commission of Nepal after verification. Based on current trends, the RSP is likely to secure around 50 additional seats under the PR system , taking its total tally to about 175 seats , which would allow it to form a majority government under Article 76(1) of Nepal’s Constitution.