Balendra Shah “Balen,” a rapper-turned-politician and the Rastriya Swatantra Party’s (RSP) prime ministerial candidate, defeated four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli by roughly 50,000 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency on March 7, signalling a potent surge of youth-driven politics and a break with Nepal’s traditional parties. The 35-year-old engineer and former Kathmandu mayor rode a wave of Gen Z mobilisation that toppled the KP Sharma Oli-led coalition in September 2025 and has since emerged as a leading face of change.
Balen first rose to national prominence as an independent who won Kathmandu’s 2022 mayoral race. He was widely touted as a candidate to head an interim government after the 2025 protests but declined, saying he preferred to seek a full parliamentary mandate. In January he joined the newly formed RSP, led by Ravi Lamichhane, and was soon declared the party’s pick for prime minister.
As mayor of Kathmandu, Shah is credited with visible reform and city beautification projects. In his resignation letter he wrote, “I have performed my duty in an honest manner as far as possible for the welfare of the metropolis and its inhabitants.” Supporters praise his focus on basic civic services and vocational training, while critics point to contentious demolition drives and allegations he failed to deploy a fire brigade during violent protests.
Born in Kathmandu to a family originally from Madhesh province, Shah is the youngest son of Ayurved practitioner Ram Narayan Shah and homemaker Dhruvadevi Shah. He earned a civil engineering degree in Kathmandu and completed a master’s in structural engineering at Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) in Karnataka. He married Sabina Kafle in 2018; the couple has a daughter born in 2023.
Before politics, Shah built a large youth following as a rapper and social-media personality. His YouTube channel lists about a million subscribers. He released his first single, “Sadak Balak,” in 2012 and gained wider recognition after participating in a 2013 YouTube battle-rap series. “Balen won the hearts of thousands of youths through his rap songs,” said musician Sudip Manandha, noting Shah’s satirical critiques of social ills and corruption.
Months after his mayoral victory, Time magazine named Shah among the “Top 100 Emerging Leaders of 2023,” saying he used social platforms “to harness voter anger over the status quo.” The magazine also noted his campaign promises in a city still recovering from the 2015 earthquake: better waste disposal and sanitation, safe drinking water, cleaner roads, and preservation of cultural heritage alongside development.
Locally, ward chairman Naveen Manandhar credited Shah with introducing vocational training and skill-oriented extracurriculars that, he said, helped 60,000–70,000 youths find employment. Opponents cast Shah as the youthful challenger to Oli’s conservative old guard. Often seen in dark goggles and a black blazer, Shah also carried a small metal bell-the RSP’s symbol-at rallies, using it as a ritual warning to political opponents. (PTI)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/03/08/balendra-shah-is-nepals-rising-star-in-politics/
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Publish Date: 2026-03-08 05:05:00
