Kathmandu, 7 March: Former Kathmandu Mayor and senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, Balendra (Balen) Shah, is drawing significant global attention after entering Nepal’s House of Representatives election race. Shah resigned from his position as Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City to contest the parliamentary election from Jhapa Constituency-5, where he is facing CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.
The race has attracted widespread international interest, with vote counting currently underway and major global media outlets closely following developments.
Shah’s rise in national politics gained further momentum after Nepal’s Gen-Z movement, which took place on Bhadra 23 and 24, demanding good governance and an end to corruption. Following the movement, Shah joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party and launched a nationwide campaign promising to represent the aspirations of young Nepalis. Analysts say the election environment reflects a strong wave of public engagement, particularly among younger voters.
International media have widely covered Shah’s political journey. Al Jazeera noted that Shah was largely unknown until 2013 but quickly rose to fame as a rapper. Nearly a decade later, he shocked Nepal’s traditional political establishment by winning the Kathmandu mayoral election in 2022 as an independent candidate.
The outlet also reported that during the anti-corruption Gen-Z protests, Shah supported the movement that eventually forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign. Although he was reportedly considered a leading candidate to head the interim government, Shah instead supported former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as prime minister and chose to contest parliamentary elections himself.
International outlets view Shah as a representative of a new political generation challenging Nepal’s established political parties. The BBC has also described his rise as part of a broader shift in Nepal’s political landscape and even produced a nearly 50-minute documentary examining the country’s future aspirations after the Gen-Z protests.
Other global publications have echoed similar observations. The Times of India described Shah as an “engineer, rapper, mayor and disruptor,” highlighting his popularity not only for his music but also for his speeches and governance record.
Meanwhile, The Guardian portrayed the election battle in eastern Nepal as an extraordinary political contest between a young rapper-turned-politician and a long-established political heavyweight.
International news agency Reuters and CNN have also been closely tracking Shah’s campaign and vote count, suggesting that the outcome could signal a significant political shift in the Himalayan nation situated between China and India.
