By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, March 6 (Reuters) - A three-year-old party led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah looked set to sweep Nepal's general election on Friday, trouncing established rivals in a result analysts likened to a "tsunami".
Thirty-five-year-old Shah and his Rastriya Swatantra Party were on course to win a majority in the 275-member lower house of parliament, leading in 100 of the 137 seats, the election commission said.
At 1200 GMT, vote counting was under way for 165 seats filled by direct election in the 275-member lower house, while the rest will be decided through proportional representation.
Balendra Shah, the former mayor of the capital Kathmandu, has dominated the race to become prime minister, gaining near-rockstar-like fame on social media across the Himalayan nation after a youth-led uprising.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY
"At least one member from each household seems to have voted for it (RSP). Otherwise this type of tsunami would not have been possible," analyst Puranjan Acharya told Reuters.
Political instability has plagued the nation of 30 million for decades, crippling a largely agrarian economy grappling with unemployment and corruption.
That unrest erupted into street protests last September after a social media ban brought thousands onto the streets, triggering clashes and deaths that led to former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli's resignation.
If Shah takes power, it would cap a dramatic rise for a man who first gained prominence with rap music critical of the establishment and is now seeking high political office.
NEPALI CONGRESS CONCEDES DEFEAT
Trends showed Oli's Communist Party of Nepal was leading in 10 seats and he was losing to Shah in his home constituency.
The Nepali Congress, the country's oldest party, was leading in 10 seats and had won just one. Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma said in a post on X that the party had accepted the voters' verdict.
"I voted for Rastriya Swatantra Party because Balen is there," said Deepak Adhikari, 33, after voting in Kathmandu on Thursday, referring to the youthful leader by his popular name.
"I believe he will ... make the country prosperous."
Final results were likely to be announced on Friday evening or by Saturday morning, election officials said.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Clarence Fernandez and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
