Balen Shah set to resign as Mayor on Jan 18

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah is set to resign on Jan 18 ahead of the upcoming federal parliamentary elections

A senior member of Shah’s secretariat confirmed that the mayor, who recently joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) as a senior leader, plans to step down two days before filing his candidacy for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5.

According to the Election Commission, nomination filing for the election will begin on Magh 6.

The RSP has announced Balen Shah as its prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming polls.

Meanwhile, Shah is preparing to contest from Jhapa-5, challenging CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli.

On Sunday, he held a 90-minute discussion with party leaders in Jhapa regarding his plans.

Shah met with RSP Jhapa President Prakash Pathak and Secretary Shambhu Suskera at the home of secretariat member Kumar Ben in Lalitpur-10, Jwagal.

According to Pathak, Shah has decided to contest from Jhapa-5, and his team has conducted a preliminary survey of the constituency, assessing local development, infrastructure, and the presence of established political parties.

Jhapa-5 has been a stronghold of KP Sharma Oli, who has consistently won elections there.

The last defeat Oli faced in the constituency was in 2064 BS against a then-Maoist candidate.

Shah also met with leaders of the Tharuhat Movement, including Laxman Tharu and Surendra Chaudhary, as part of his preparatory outreach, according to secretariat sources.