New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Nepal’s newly elected leader Balendra Shah, who will become the Himalayan nation’s youngest prime minister.“Had a warm telephone conversation with Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Mr. Rabi Lamichane and Mr. Rastriya Swatantra. Balendra Shah, senior RSP leader,” PM Modi wrote on X.Prime Minister Modi said he conveyed India’s “commitment to working with them for the mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of our two countries”. Prime Minister Modi further wrote: “Congratulations to both leaders on their electoral victory and congratulations to the Socialist Party of Nepal on its great success in Nepal’s elections. I express my best wishes for their upcoming new government and express India’s commitment to working with them to achieve mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of our two countries. I believe that through our joint efforts, India-Nepal relations will reach new heights in the coming years.”
Nepal’s political landscape has undergone a dramatic shift as newly elected youth leader Balendra “Balen” Shah ousted veteran politician and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli from the parliamentary stronghold. Shah, a structural engineer by profession who initially served as mayor of Kathmandu, made history four years later when he became Nepal’s youngest-ever prime minister.The former rapper and mayor of the capital defeated his long-time rival Oli by a huge margin in the Jhapa-5 contest, the Election Commission of Nepal announced. Shah, a senior leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSP), polled 68,348 votes, almost four times the 18,734 votes polled by the 74-year-old Marxist leader.
