Former rapper to run for Nepal PM in key election after Gen Z-led protests
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Under an agreement, rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah will become the prime minister of Nepal if the Rastriya Swatantra Party wins the March 5 election.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KATHMANDU – Two popular leaders have formed an alliance ahead of the March parliamentary election in Nepal that will challenge the older parties, which have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for more than three decades, party officials and analysts said on Dec 29.
Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Dec 28, party officials said.
They said under the agreement with the RSP, Balen, 35, would become prime minister if the party wins the March 5 election, while Mr Lamichhane will remain the party chief.
Both have vowed to address the demands raised during the “Gen Z” youth-led protests
“It is a very smart and strategic move by the RSP to bring in Balen and his young supporters into its fold,” analyst Bipin Adhikari said. “Traditional political parties are in pain for fear of losing their young voters to RSP.”
Nepal’s election commission says nearly 19 million of the country’s 30 million people are eligible to vote in the election. Nearly one million voters, mostly youth, were added after the protests.
Balen was in the spotlight after the protests and was an undeclared leader of the youngsters who led the demonstrations.
He also helped form the interim government of former chief justice Sushila Karki to oversee the vote.
Mr Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the centrist Nepali Congress have shared power for most of the past three decades and are most likely to be challenged by Balen. REUTERS
