- Shah’s popularity fueled by social media and youth connection.
- The RSP party’s manifesto promises job creation and economic growth.
- The final results, covering 165 seats decided by direct voting, are expected within days.
After Nepal’s historic youth-led uprising last September killed 77 people and forced then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician posted a typically terse message to his millions of social media followers.
“Dear Gen Z, your killer’s resignation has arrived,” Balendra Shah – popularly known only as Balen – wrote. “Now your generation will lead the country. Be prepared.”
Five months later, the musician, who cut his political teeth in 2022 when he became mayor of the capital Kathmandu, is poised to become Nepal’s next prime minister after the country’s first election since the September uprising.
Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was leading by around 100 seats, far ahead of its main rivals, early counting trends from the Election Commission showed on Friday.
The final results, covering 165 seats decided by direct vote and 110 by proportional representation, are expected within days.
The Nepali Congress, currently in second place, has already conceded defeat and analysts said the RSP’s dominant showing means it is likely to form the next government.
“Balen Shah is so popular that buses coming to Kathmandu now have stickers on them that say ‘on the way to the city of Balen,'” said Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional law expert who teaches at Kathmandu University.
If Shah is able to take power, it would cap a dramatic rise for a man who stepped into the public spotlight with rap music critical of the establishment and parlayed his popularity into high political office.
It would also potentially reshape politics in Nepal, a small Himalayan nation wedged between China and India that has long been dominated by a handful of established parties.
‘Not a cake walk’
Some of Shah’s nationwide appeal is driven by the work he has done as mayor of Kathmandu, where he focused on improving city infrastructure, such as waste management, and ensuring the delivery of services such as health care.
He has also faced criticism, including from Human Rights Watch, for allegedly using the police to seize the properties of street vendors and the landless.
Shah – who stepped down as mayor in January to run for the general election – did not respond to requests for an interview and questions from Reuters sent via e-mail.
Unlike much of Nepal’s political elite, which is made up of veterans of older generations, Shah has made a habit of largely avoiding the mainstream press.
Instead, it is his prolific social media presence with over 3.5 million followers on platforms like Facebook that enables him to connect directly with young Nepalis.
“What makes Balen special is that he remains connected with the youth through his short messages on social media, but it would not be a cakewalk for him after becoming the prime minister,” said independent political analyst Puranjan Acharya.
‘Let Me Talk’
Born to a father who practiced traditional Ayurvedic medicine and a stay-at-home mother, Shah showed an early penchant for poetry that developed into a love of rap music, influenced by American artists including Tupac Shakur and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, according to an aide.
After securing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in Nepal, Shah went on to study for a master’s degree in structural engineering in southern India – by which time he had already emerged as a rap star in his home country.
His songs, which often took on Nepal’s ruling class, struck a chord with many in a country where about 20% of the 30 million people live in extreme poverty.
Released in 2019, one of Shah’s best-known songs, “Balidan” – or sacrifice in the Nepali language – has over 12 million views on YouTube.
Its lyrics read:
“Let me speak, sir, it is not a crime,
Let me open my mind, I am not a curse to the palace,
My mind is not bad, it is not afraid to speak the truth.”
‘Wood attacked by termites’
Last December, Shah joined the RSP, led by former TV host-turned-politician Rabi Lamichhane, as its prime ministerial candidate.
In its manifesto, Shah’s RSP has pledged to create 1.2 million jobs and reduce forced migration in a bid to tap into frustration over unemployment and low wages that have pushed millions of Nepalis to seek work abroad.
The party has also promised to raise Nepal’s income per per capita from $1,447 to $3,000, more than double the country’s economy to $100 billion GDP, and provide safety nets such as health insurance to the entire population—all within five years.
Nationally, analysts predict that if elected, much of Shah’s success will depend on the talent he surrounds himself with to overhaul a moribund administrative system riven by corruption.
“It needs a team, experts and support,” said Acharya, “Under the existing state apparatus, he cannot perform and he will end up like wood attacked by termites.”
