Nepal's Balendra Shah Set to Be Sworn In as Prime Minister on Friday

Kathmandu: Nepal is set to swear in a new Prime Minister on Friday after the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) unanimously approved the appointment of senior leader Balendra Shah as its parliamentary party leader — a move that formally paves the way for him to lead the country's next government.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party's Central Committee held at its Kathmandu office on Thursday evening.

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Balendra Shah — widely known as Balen — brings an unconventional profile to Nepal's highest political office. A structural engineer and rapper by background, he rose to national prominence as the Mayor of Kathmandu before entering the national political arena through the RSP.

Under the RSP's party charter, only the parliamentary party leader can be appointed Prime Minister — making Thursday's unanimous decision the final formal step before his swearing-in.

Shah is scheduled to take his oath of office on Friday at the President's Office before President Ram Chandra Paudel, at a precisely chosen time of 12:34 PM local time — a moment selected because the digits read as 1234 sequentially.

Seven conch shells are planned to be sounded at the exact moment of the swearing-in, in keeping with a special ritual the party has arranged with the belief that work begun under such auspicious conditions will be successful.

The ceremony will be accompanied by religious observances drawn from both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

A group of 108 Batuks — novice priests — will recite the Swasti Shanti, a traditional blessing, while 16 Buddhist monks will simultaneously recite the Ashtamangala, considered one of the most auspicious sets of symbols in Buddhist tradition.

Following his own oath of secrecy, Shah will then administer the oath of office and secrecy to his incoming Cabinet members.

After the swearing-in ceremony concludes at the President's Office, the new Prime Minister is expected to assume charge at Singha Durbar — the seat of Nepal's executive government — at approximately 2:15 PM on Friday.