Claim
The Election Commission (EC) has revoked the nomination of RSP candidate Balendra Shah.
Fact
No, the viral video is false.
A video claiming that the Election Commission (EC) has revoked the nomination of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is going viral on TikTok.
Balendra Shah resigned as mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City to contest the upcoming snap parliamentary elections scheduled for March 5, 2026. Shah is contesting the upcoming House of Representatives election from constituency 5 of Jhapa district from Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) ticket. CPN-UML chairman KP Oli also contesting from the same constituency. RSP has decided to project Balen as its prime ministerial candidate.
Against this backdrop, TikTok user @gmali85 posted a video carrying a photo of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) senior leader Balendra Shah with text superimposed on it reading, “All the dreams went up in smoke. The election commission has given a tight slap. The person not wanted by Nepali people but made a hero by social media.”
In the video, a TikTok user says, “Friends! Here is breaking news. The Election Commission has revoked the nomination filed by RSP senior leader Balendra Shah from Jhapa constituency-5. The commission deemed his nomination letter invalid. The Election commission has given Balen Shah a tight slap. What will happen to his dream of becoming Prime Minister? He will go into depression. Thank you Balen Shah.”
The video posted on February 2 has garnered 20.8k likes, 2373 users have shared it and 2351 people have commented until the last count. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newschecker found the claim to be false.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the veracity of the claim, Newschecker checked the latest news related to Balen Shah but could not find any credible report indicating that the Election Commission has cancelled the nomination of Balendra Shah.
Rather, we found reports (see here & here) confirming that the Election Commission has sought clarifications from RSP candidate Balendra Shah for his alleged violation of election code of conduct.
A news article, dated February 3, posted on My Republica, reported that the EC has asked RSP candidate Balendra Shah to furnish a second clarification over an audio-visual clip showing plain-clothed police allegedly assisting his campaign.
Further, we reached out to Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai who confirmed that the commission has not made any decision to terminate the candidacy of Balen Shah.
Thus, our findings clearly indicate that the viral video is misleading.
Conclusion
No, the Election Commission (EC) has not terminated the nomination of RSP candidate Balendra Shah. The viral video is false.
Result: False
Sources
My Republica, Feb 3, 2026
Khabarhub, Feb 2, 2026
The Himalayan Times , Jan 28, 2026
