<p>Balendra Shah, fondly called 'Balen', on Friday took oath as Prime Minister of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/nepal">Nepal</a>, becoming the youngest elected leader to hold the top executive post in the Himalayan nation.</p><p>The 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician has also become the first prime minister from the Madhes region.</p><p>President Ramchandra Paudel appointed Balen, the parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), as the prime minister in accordance with the Article 76 (1) of the Constitution, states a notice issued by the President's Office.</p>.Changing Nepal signals a regional reset.<p>The swearing-in ceremony comprised elaborate religious rituals including Shankhanad (conch blowing) by seven brahmins, recitation of Vedic hymns or Swasti Bachan by 108 Hindu Batuks or young brahmins and Mangal Bachan or recitation of Buddhist scripture by 107 Lamas.</p><p>Balen is likely to form a small cabinet with 15 to 18 ministers, a <em>PTI</em> report said.</p><p>The RSP that had projected Balen as the prime ministerial candidate, secured a massive 182 seats out of a total 275 seats in the House of Representatives (HoR), making it eligible to form a majority government under Article 76 (1) of the Constitution.</p><p>Balen, the former Kathmandu mayor, defeated four-time prime minister K P Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency, a long-standing stronghold of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), by a huge margin.</p><p><em>(With agency inputs)</em></p>
<p>Balendra Shah, fondly called 'Balen', on Friday took oath as Prime Minister of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/nepal">Nepal</a>, becoming the youngest elected leader to hold the top executive post in the Himalayan nation.</p><p>The 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician has also become the first prime minister from the Madhes region.</p><p>President Ramchandra Paudel appointed Balen, the parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), as the prime minister in accordance with the Article 76 (1) of the Constitution, states a notice issued by the President's Office.</p>.Changing Nepal signals a regional reset.<p>The swearing-in ceremony comprised elaborate religious rituals including Shankhanad (conch blowing) by seven brahmins, recitation of Vedic hymns or Swasti Bachan by 108 Hindu Batuks or young brahmins and Mangal Bachan or recitation of Buddhist scripture by 107 Lamas.</p><p>Balen is likely to form a small cabinet with 15 to 18 ministers, a <em>PTI</em> report said.</p><p>The RSP that had projected Balen as the prime ministerial candidate, secured a massive 182 seats out of a total 275 seats in the House of Representatives (HoR), making it eligible to form a majority government under Article 76 (1) of the Constitution.</p><p>Balen, the former Kathmandu mayor, defeated four-time prime minister K P Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency, a long-standing stronghold of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), by a huge margin.</p><p><em>(With agency inputs)</em></p>
