"former Leader"

#13213194

18 January 2026

Former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, also known as Balen, gestures after arriving at the party office of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 18, 2026, formally joining the party to contest the March election. The rapper-turned-mayor is presented as the next Prime Minister by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). The former rapper, who wins the local election of 2022 from the Nepali capital, also assumes the charge of senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). On December 28, Balen strikes a deal with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) where it is agreed that he will be the next Prime Ministerial candidate from the party. As per the 7-point agreement, RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane continues as the party's central chairman, while Shah is presented as the party's parliamentary leader after the elections and its prime ministerial candidate. The RSP emerges as the fourth largest political force, winning 21 seats in the dissolved House of Representatives within a year of its establishment. With candidacy filing scheduled for January 20, Shah prepares to contest from the Jhapa-5 constituency in the March 5 elections, with the declared aim of beating four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency. Balen promises to institutionalize the agenda raised by September's Gen-Z movement. The electoral battle in Jhapa-5 shapes up to be an intriguing contest this time.

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#13213195

18 January 2026

Former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, also known as Balen, arrives at the party office of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 18, 2026, formally joining the party to contest the March election. The rapper-turned-mayor is presented as the next Prime Minister by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). The former rapper, who won the local election of 2022 from the Nepali capital, also assumes the role of senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). On December 28, Balen strikes a deal with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) where it is agreed that he will be the next Prime Ministerial candidate from the party. As per the 7-point agreement, RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane continues as the party's central chairman, while Shah is presented as the party's parliamentary leader after the elections and its prime ministerial candidate. The RSP emerges as the fourth largest political force, winning 21 seats in the dissolved House of Representatives within a year of its establishment. With candidacy filing scheduled for January 20, Shah prepares to contest from the Jhapa-5 constituency in the March 5 elections, with the declared aim of beating four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency. Balen promises to institutionalize the agenda raised by September's Gen-Z movement. The electoral battle in Jhapa-5 shapes up to be an intriguing contest this time.

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#13213290

18 January 2026

Former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, also known as Balen, rings a traditional bell after arriving at the party office of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 18, 2026, formally joining the party to contest the March election. The rapper turned mayor is presented as the next Prime Minister by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). The former rapper, who wins the local election of 2022 from the Nepali capital, also assumes the charge of senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). On December 28, Balen strikes a deal with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) where it is agreed that he will be the next Prime Ministerial candidate from the party. As per the 7-point agreement, RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane continues as the party's central chairman, while Shah is presented as the party's parliamentary leader after the elections and its prime ministerial candidate. The RSP emerges as the fourth largest political force, winning 21 seats in the dissolved House of Representatives within a year of its establishment. With candidacy filing scheduled for January 20, Shah prepares to contest from the Jhapa-5 constituency in the March 5 elections, with the declared aim of beating four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency. Balen promises to institutionalize the agenda raised by September's Gen-Z movement. The electoral battle in Jhapa-5 shapes up to be an intriguing contest this time.

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#13206276

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, Chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, attends a court hearing on the selection of a preventive measure against her at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026, accompanied by her husband.

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#13206277

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, Chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, attends a court hearing on the selection of a preventive measure against her at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026, accompanied by her husband.

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#13206278

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, the chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, attends a court hearing on the selection of a preventive measure against her at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026.

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#13206279

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, Chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, speaks with journalists after a court hearing at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026.

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#13206280

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, Chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, speaks with journalists after a court hearing at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026.

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#13206281

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, Chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, speaks with journalists after a court hearing at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026.

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#13206282

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, the chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, attends a court hearing on the selection of a preventive measure against her at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026.

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#13206283

17 January 2026

Yulia Tymoshenko, the chair of the parliamentary faction of the Batkivshchyna party and former Prime Minister of Ukraine, attends a court hearing on the selection of a preventive measure against her at the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2026.

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#13203930

16 January 2026

Former Home Minister and Senior Nepali Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi (center in black overcoat) is escorted by a group of cadres outside the Election Commission in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 16, 2026. The internal rift within the Nepali Congress deepens after a special general convention is organized without the consent of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba. The convention, held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, elects Gagan Thapa as party president. Following the convention, the Deuba faction accuses Thapa and his allies of organizing an ''illegal'' gathering and subsequently expels Thapa, along with leaders Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Farmullah Mansoor, from the party. Since then, the country's oldest democratic party remains effectively split into two rival factions.

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#13204072

16 January 2026

Former acting Nepali Congress President Purna Bahadur Khadka (center in brown cap) addresses the media following the decision of the Election Commission in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 16, 2026. The internal rift within the Nepali Congress deepens after a special general convention is organized without the consent of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba. The convention, held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, elects Gagan Thapa as party president. Following the convention, the Deuba faction accuses Thapa and his allies of organizing an ''illegal'' gathering and subsequently expels Thapa, along with leaders Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Farmullah Mansoor, from the party. Since then, the country's oldest democratic party remains effectively split into two rival factions.

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#13204073

16 January 2026

Prakash Sharan Mahat, the former Finance Minister, is escorted by a group of cadres outside the Election Commission in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 16, 2026. The internal rift within the Nepali Congress deepens after a special general convention is organized without the consent of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba. The convention, held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, elects Gagan Thapa as party president. Following the convention, the Deuba faction accuses Thapa and his allies of organizing an ''illegal'' gathering and subsequently expels Thapa, along with leaders Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Farmullah Mansoor, from the party. Since then, the country's oldest democratic party remains effectively split into two rival factions.

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#13204098

16 January 2026

Catarina Martins, a Portuguese Presidential Election Candidate, visits a train maintenance facility in Guifoes, Matosinhos, on January 16, 2026, the last day of the official campaign for the presidency. Catarina Martins, 52, is a member of the European Parliament from 2024 to the present and a former leader of the left-wing party Bloco de Esquerda (BE) from 2012 to 2023.

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#13204099

16 January 2026

Catarina Martins, a Portuguese Presidential Election Candidate, visits a train maintenance facility in Guifoes, Matosinhos, on January 16, 2026, the last day of the official campaign for the presidency. Catarina Martins, 52, is a member of the European Parliament from 2024 to the present and a former leader of the left-wing party Bloco de Esquerda (BE) from 2012 to 2023.

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