Kathmandu, March 7 -- Balendra Shah, senior leader of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has achieved a landslide victory in Jhapa-5, defeating CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli by 49,614 votes.

Shah secured 68,348 votes, while Oli managed only 18,734 votes in the constituency widely regarded as the election's epicentre.

Shah's victory drew nationwide attention, as he had been announced by the RSP as the party's candidate for prime minister.

A senior leader of the RSP, Shah contested against Oli, who had previously defeated Nepali Congress leader Khagendra Adhikari by a margin of 28,576 votes in the 2022 parliamentary election.

Balen, a former mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City from May 2022 until his resignation in January 2026 to enter nat...