Balen Shah set to take oath as Nepal PM (IMAGE: X)
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has unanimously approved the proposal of appointing senior leader Balendra Shah as parliamentary party leader, paving the way for his appointment as the next Prime Minister.
The meeting of the Central Committee, held at the party office in Kathmandu on Thursday evening, unanimously agreed to appoint the former Kathmandu Mayor, a structural engineer and rapper, as the parliamentary leader.
Shah is set to take oath tomorrow at the President’s Office from President Ram Chandra Paudel amid a special function. As per the RSP charter, only the parliamentary party leader can become the Prime Minister.
As per the agreement between RSP President Rabi Lamichanne and Shah on December 28, the party is going to officially prepare Shah for the role with the vote of its 182 House members.
Former TV host and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane will continue to serve as the Rastriya Swatantra Party’s central chairperson, and Balendra Shah will be the parliamentary party leader and future prime minister candidate following the House of Representatives election, reads Point 4 of their agreement.
The new Prime Minister is set to be sworn in at 12:34 PM (local time), which would count as 1234 numerically, and seven conchs are planned to be played at the time of the swearing ceremony. As per the party leaders, this special ritual is planned with the belief that any work done will be successful.
Simultaneously, other rituals will continue while he takes the oath. The 108 Batuks (novice priests) will recite Swasti Shanti, and another 16 Buddhist monks will recite the Ashtamangala. Both are considered auspicious in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
Following the oath of secrecy, Balen will then administer the oath of office and secrecy to his Cabinet members. The new Prime Minister will assume office at Singha Durbar at approximately 2:15 pm.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, Balen also took the oath of secrecy as a member of the House of Representatives (HoR). In 2022, a structural engineer with a signature pair of black rectangular sunglasses and a history in the underground rap scene did the unthinkable Balendra “Balen” Shah dismantled the established political machinery of Nepal to become the Mayor of Kathmandu.
Running as an independent under the symbol of a walking stick, Balen secured 61,767 votes, comfortably outstripping veterans from the Nepali Congress. Sirjana Singh secured 38,341 votes, while CPN-UML candidate Keshav Sthapit, also the former Mayor of the capital, got 38,117 votes.
(With Inputs From ANI)
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