Balen Shah Reports Rs 1.41 Million in Election Spending

Senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Balendra (Balen) Shah, who is poised to become Nepal’s next prime minister, has reported election expenses totalling Rs 1.41 million to the District Election Office in Jhapa.

Shah, former mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, defeated former prime minister and CPN (UML) chair KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa-5 by a margin of nearly 50,000 votes in the March 5 House of Representatives elections.

The RSP has won 125 first-past-the-post seats so far and is also leading the proportional representation vote, securing 4.51 million of the 9.34 million votes counted.

According to the expense statement filed through Shah’s election representative Nabin Bhandari, Shah spent Rs 293,800 on vehicle rentals for 15 days and Rs 580,000 on ward-level campaign activities. Air travel for campaign purposes cost Rs 35,000 for five flights.

Other expenses included Rs 28,970 on snacks during voter training, Rs 49,850 for printing sample ballots, Rs 120,000 for two months of water supply at the regional election office, and Rs 22,820 on stationery.

Printing campaign materials, including banners and badges, cost Rs 276,849, while the nomination registration fee was Rs 10,000.

The Election Commission had set an election spending ceiling of Rs 3.1 million for a candidate in Jhapa-5.