Balen Shah’s political rise in Nepal reflects a broader shift after youth-led protests

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Balendra Shah, a structural engineer who rose to fame as a rap artist before becoming Kathmandu’s mayor, is poised to become Nepal’s next prime minister, after his party swept a parliamentary election earlier this month.

Shah, widely known as Balen, leads the Rastriya Swatantra Party, or, RSP, which won about two-thirds of the 275 seats in the bicameral parliament’s powerful lower House of Representatives.

It is the first time in many years in Nepal that a single party has won such an overwhelming majority.

Shah was chosen as the leader by the elected members from his party on Thursday. The president is set to appoint Shah as the prime minister of Nepal, and to swear him in on Friday.

The victory positions the 35-year-old political outsider to lead a government to navigate deep public frustration with Nepal’s established parties, which were widely blamed by voters for corruption and chronic political instability.

Shah’s rise reflects a broader shift in Nepal’s politics after youth-led protests toppled the previous government last year.

Analysts say his decisive mandate could give him room to pursue reforms. But his limited national governing experience and the challenge of managing supporters’ expectations may test his leadership in the months ahead.

“Balen Shah does not have the experience of government operation and lacks the complex knowledge of running the state,” said Hari Bahadur Thapa, a Kathmandu-based author who has written extensively on corruption and governance.

Yet Thapa said that Shah may benefit from a weakened opposition. With his party backed by nearly two-thirds of lawmakers, he could find it easier to push legislation through parliament and advance reforms, Thapa said.

Shah rose to national prominence as Kathmandu’s mayor after winning the post as an independent in 2022. He later joined the RSP and quickly became its candidate for prime minister, positioning himself as an alternative to two other prominent leaders from rival parties.

Shah directly challenged former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli in a southeastern district and won by a wide margin, a result widely seen as a sign of voter anger toward the country’s entrenched political establishment.

As mayor of Kathmandu, Shah won praise for tackling the capital’s garbage crisis, clearing illegal street vendors and pushing road expansions, though critics accused him of demolishing homes and businesses without adequate planning or notice.

Before entering politics, Shah trained as a structural engineer and gained modest fame as a rap artist, often using his music to rail against corruption and social injustice.

One of his songs, “Nepal Smiling,” circulated widely on Instagram and TikTok. It opens with children’s voices singing: “I want to see Nepal laugh.” Shah then enters with a verse that imagines a more just country. “May the country be a beautiful garden,” he sings.

In another track called “Sacrifice,” his tone is far sharper. “All the people who defend the country are idiots. All leaders are thieves … plundering the country,” he raps.

Shah also emerged as a prominent voice during the bloody youth-led uprising in September that toppled the government in the nation of 30 million people, a wave of unrest that left dozens dead.

Although he didn’t directly participate in the protests, he publicly expressed support for the largely Generation Z demonstrators who led the movement.

As unrest intensified, he urged calm and restraint, calling for order to prevent further violence. Later, he backed negotiations that helped pave the way for the formation of an interim government.

Often dressed in black and wearing dark sunglasses, Shah rarely gave speeches during campaigning and spoke to his supporter mostly through social media. His campaign centered on economic reforms, with promises to expand access to education and health care for poorer Nepalis.

Whether Shah can convert popularity into effective government remains uncertain, as critics say his experience in government is limited to running Kathmandu.

For many of his supporters, however, his political ascent already represents a break from Nepal’s entrenched political order.

“Finally we have a young, good and clean leader,” said Susil Singh, an office worker.

Singh said that he hoped Shah would rein in corruption and deliver justice to those who were killed during last year’s protests.

“He asked us for our support and we gave him our votes. Now he is going to bring the country back on track,” Singh said.