New Nepal government faces old challenges

Nepal’s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah is set to become the next prime minister after his centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a commanding majority in parliamentary elections.



His meteoric rise – propelled by anti-establishment sentiment and youth anger over corruption – marks one of the most dramatic shifts in Nepal’s political landscape in decades.



The high-stakes March 5 election came six months after deadly protests that toppled the government, in which at least 77 people were killed.



Just 35, Mr Shah rose from mayor of the capital Kathmandu to defeat veteran four-time former prime minister KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency.



But the new government now faces the far harder task of fixing the Himalayan nation’s ailing economy.