Balendra Shah: Nepal’s rapper politician who took on the old guard and won

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah won a dramatic parliamentary contest on March 7, defeating veteran leader K.P. Sharma Oli in the former prime minister’s own constituency after staking his political future on the challenge.

Mr Shah’s victory over the veteran Marxist leader marks one of the most symbolic results of Nepal’s high-stakes parliamentary election, held six months after mass anti-corruption protests toppled the government.

His win caps a bold gamble by the 35-year-old reformist, who resigned as Kathmandu mayor to challenge Mr Oli, the 74-year-old four-time prime minister, in his own stronghold.

Mr Shah had taken an unassailable lead on March 7, according to Election Commission figures.

He will become prime minister if his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) party secures a parliamentary majority, as Election Commission trends on March 7 put it on course to do.

Better known as Balen, the sharply dressed Mr Shah has emerged as a symbol of youth-driven political change.

Born in Kathmandu in 1990, he was a schoolboy during Nepal’s 1996-2006 Maoist civil war, which killed thousands and eventually ended the monarchy.

Mr Shah trained as a civil engineer but first gained national attention through Nepal’s underground hip-hop scene, releasing songs that railed against corruption and inequality.

Those themes, he says, still guide his politics.

“If a person involved in politics also engages in literature or music, it becomes emotionally driven,” Mr Shah told AFP during his campaign for the elections on March 5 in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people.

“We also need to nurture the emotional aspect of our lives, and a politician should possess that sensitivity.”

His music, which has drawn millions of views online, helped him cultivate a devoted following on social media – a platform he continues to favour over traditional outlets for communicating with supporters.

That popularity translated into a political shock in 2022, when Mr Shah became the first independent candidate elected mayor of Kathmandu, stunning Nepal’s entrenched political establishment.

He built a reputation as a blunt, often confrontational reformer as mayor, launching campaigns against tax evasion, traffic congestion and mismanagement.

However, his tenure also attracted criticism for heavy-handed enforcement and for bypassing journalists in favour of broadcasting directly to millions of followers online.

‘Social justice’

Mr Shah resigned as mayor in January to run in the general elections, the first since mass protests in September overthrew Mr Oli.

Rather than running from his Kathmandu base, Mr Shah chose to challenge Mr Oli directly in Jhapa-5, a largely rural constituency about 300km south-east of the capital.

He said that “contesting against a major figure” signalled that he was “not taking the easy way out” to win a seat.

“It demonstrates that, despite the problems or betrayals that have affected the country, we are moving towards addressing them,” he said.

Mr Shah joined the centrist RSP led by television host Rabi Lamichhane, which became Parliament’s fourth-largest force in the last elections in 2022 after challenging parties that had dominated Nepal since the end of the civil war.

“We share the same ideology,” Mr Shah said, describing a vision of “a liberal economic system with social justice”, including free education and healthcare for the poor.

Mr Shah emerged as a central figure during the September protests, which were initially sparked by anger over a brief ban on social media platforms under a loose “Gen Z” banner.

This quickly grew into a broader movement against corruption and economic stagnation. At least 77 people were killed during the unrest.

“Gen Z’s number one demand is good governance, because there is a high level of corruption in the country,” Mr Shah said.

He insists music will remain part of his identity, despite his political ambitions.

“Music is a medium to express oneself,” he said. “I will continue it, even if I am elected as prime minister.” AFP