The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) on Thursday picked senior leader Balendra Shah as its parliamentary party leader.

The decision was taken at the central committee meeting held at the party office in Banasthali, shortly after newly elected lawmakers attended the oath-taking ceremony at Singha Durbar.

Party chair Rabi Lamichhane proposed Shah’s name for the post, which was endorsed unanimously.

Following the central committee’s decision, the party is set to convene a meeting of its parliamentary party to formalise the leadership arrangement, paving the way for Shah to stake a claim to the prime ministership.

Shah had earlier been declared the party’s prime ministerial candidate for the March 21 elections.

The RSP holds 182 seats in the 275-member lower house.

Earlier in the day, Arjun Narsingh KC, the senior-most member of the House of Representatives, administered the oath of office and secrecy to all lawmakers at a programme organised at the multipurpose hall of the newly constructed Parliament building in Singha Durbar.