India, March 8 -- Voters in Nepal have swept aside the country's dominant political forces and handed a victory to a party formed only four years ago and led by a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician in the election held after the Gen Z protests of last September. The disillusionment with the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, which have had a stranglehold on the political landscape for almost 30 years, was so great that leaders such as four-time premier KP Sharma Oli were roundly rejected by the electorate.

The youth-led protests found closure with Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader Balendra Shah defeating septuagenarian Oli in his home constituency by a record margin. The RSP now appears set for a two-thirds major...