KATHMANDU: Five months after a historic youth-led uprising in Nepal that claimed 77 lives and forced then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign, 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is poised to become the country’s next prime minister following the nation’s first election since the September protests.
Posting on social media shortly after Oli’s resignation, Shah addressed his generation: “Dear Gen Z, the resignation of your killer has come. Now your generation will have to lead the country. Be prepared.”
Shah, who first entered politics in 2022 as the mayor of Kathmandu, has quickly risen in popularity. Early election results show his party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), leading in around 100 seats, significantly ahead of rivals.
Final results, covering 165 directly elected seats and 110 proportional representation seats, are expected in the coming days. Analysts say the RSP’s commanding performance makes it likely to form the next government, with the Nepali Congress already conceding defeat.
“Balen Shah is so popular that now buses coming to Kathmandu have stickers on them saying, ‘Headed to Balen’s city,’” said Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional law expert at Kathmandu University.
From Rapper to Political Leader
Born to a father practicing traditional Ayurvedic medicine and a homemaker mother, Shah began writing poetry at a young age, eventually evolving into a rap career inspired by American artists like Tupac Shakur and 50 Cent. After earning an undergraduate degree in civil engineering in Nepal and a master’s in structural engineering in southern India, Shah’s music became a platform to challenge Nepal’s political elite.
His 2019 hit song, Balidan (“Sacrifice”), which has over 12 million views on YouTube, included lyrics calling for transparency and accountability:
"Let me speak, sir, it is not a crime,
Let me open the mind, I am not a curse to the palace,
My mind is not bad, it is not afraid to speak the truth."
Political Vision and Challenges
Shah resigned as mayor in January to contest the general election. His tenure in Kathmandu focused on improving urban infrastructure and public services but drew criticism from human rights groups over alleged heavy-handed measures against street vendors and landless citizens.
Shah largely avoids mainstream media, relying instead on his social media following of over 3.5 million to connect directly with young voters.
Political analyst Puranjan Acharya notes, “What makes Balen special is that he stays connected with the youth through his short messages on social media, but it would not be a cakewalk for him after becoming prime minister.”
The RSP’s manifesto pledges to create 1.2 million jobs, curb forced migration, double per capita income from $1,447 to $3,000, raise the nation’s GDP to $100 billion, and provide universal healthcare insurance—all within five years.
Analysts caution that much of Shah’s potential success will depend on the team he assembles to reform Nepal’s deeply bureaucratic and corruption-plagued system. “It needs a team, experts, and support. Under the existing state apparatus, he can’t perform and he will be finished like wood attacked by termites,” Acharya said.
If successful, Shah’s rise would mark a dramatic reshaping of Nepali politics, challenging the long-standing dominance of the country’s traditional parties and reflecting the growing influence of the younger generation in shaping the nation’s future.
