The Tamesis
March 30, 2026
kathmandu – Senior National Socialist Party (RSP) leader Balendra Shah was sworn in at a special event held at the President’s Office Sheetal Niwas on Friday. President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath of office and the secrecy ceremony.
The oath-taking ceremony includes a shankhanaad (conch shell blowing) performance. In addition, 108 Batuks performed swastishanti chanting, while Buddhist monks performed ashtamangal chanting.
This marks the first time a Madhesi community leader has served as Prime Minister.
Shah won the recently concluded March 5 assembly elections in Jhapa constituency 5 on a first-past-the-post basis, defeating heavyweight KP Sharma Oli, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist-Leninist Party. The constituency is considered an Oli stronghold.
Shah, a rapper and structural engineer, shot to fame when he upset traditional party candidates in 2022 local elections as an independent and became mayor of Kathmandu, the country’s most populous metropolis.
Shah served as the mayor of Kathmandu from May 2022 until his resignation in January 2026, and officially joined the RSP at the end of 2025 to enter national politics.
After Shah was sworn in, President Paudel also presided over the oath-taking ceremony of 14 other ministers. RSP deputy chairman Swarnim Wagle has become finance minister. He is an expert on economic affairs and has been elected to the House of Representatives from Tanahun-1 twice, including in the March 5 parliamentary elections.
Sudan Gurung, who rose to prominence in the Gen Z movement, has become home minister,
Shishir Khanal was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is the head of the foreign affairs department of the Real Socialist Party.
Likewise, Khadka Raj (Ganesh) Paudel has been appointed as Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. As a writer, he was selected from Kaski-1. Dipak Sah from Mahottari is appointed as Labor and Employment Minister.
Sasmit Pokharel from District 5 of Kathmandu was appointed Minister of Education, Science and Technology, and Youth and Sports. Bikram Timilsina was appointed Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Pratibha Rawal as Minister of Federal Affairs and General Affairs, and Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation. She has a background in journalism and was elected under proportional representation. Rawal is also the party’s co-spokesperson.
Biraj Bhakta Shrestha is the Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister in the Shah Cabinet. He is the leader of Kathmandu and previously served as parliamentary leader of the Royal Socialist Party.
Gita Chaudhary is the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Forest and Environment. She was elected under a system of proportional representation and joined the Real Socialist Party shortly before the election. She also serves as an advocate.
Sobita Gautam becomes Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. A legal expert, she defeated former Bharatpur mayor Renu Dahal in Chitwan-3 in the March 5 assembly elections.
Sita Badi heads the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens Affairs, while Sunil Lamsal is the Minister of Physical Infrastructure, Transport and Urban Development. Nisha Mehata takes office as Minister of Health, Population and Water Supply.
