Balen Shah has been elected as the parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
A meeting held on Thursday at the party’s central office in Chamati unanimously elected Shah as the parliamentary party leader.
"The proposal tabled by the president to appoint Rastriya Swatantra Party’s senior leader Balen Shah as the parliamentary party leader and the prime ministerial candidate has been unanimously passed by both the central committee and the parliamentary party," said RSP spokesperson Manish Jha.
The RSP contested the March 5 election declaring Shah as its prime ministerial candidate and secured nearly a two-thirds majority.
Earlier on Thursday, the RSP central committee held a meeting, where party President Rabi Lamichhane proposed electing senior leader Shah as the parliamentary party leader. The proposal was passed unanimously.
The central committee meeting was followed by a joint meeting of the central committee and the parliamentary party.
With his election as the parliamentary party leader, the path for Shah to become the prime minister is now clear. He is scheduled to take his oath of office on Friday.