Balen Shah: Engineer, rapper, mayor, disruptor — Nepal’s subsequent PM at 35?

His songs fuelled a protest era. Now the previous Kathmandu mayor is taking up ex-PM Oli and asking voters to think about him working nationKATHMANDU: Everyone desires a selfie with Balendra Shah.In Jhapa district on Sunday, as Nepal ready for its March 5 election, the road curved alongside a dusty courtyard within the japanese plains. A volunteer stored the queue transferring, permitting barely 10 seconds for every supporter — a handshake, a smile, {a photograph}. “I’m right here to see Balen although I’ve a fever,” a seven-year-old lady stated. A middle-aged lady admitted she had left a coronary heart check-up halfway. “Only for a photograph.”On the centre of the gang stood Balen — darkish blazer, trimmed beard, rectangular black sun shades. It is a look so carefully related to him that Kathmandu outlets as soon as ran out of the frames he favours, and on-line retailers nonetheless promote them as ‘Balen Shah glasses’. When the person — identified merely as Balen — steps onto a marketing campaign stage, the gang usually mirrors him in black shirts and darkish shades. He removes his sun shades solely briefly. “Have a look at me,” he says. “I like you.” Balen, who turns 36 subsequent month, is contesting parliamentary elections from Jhapa-5 towards KP Sharma Oil74, the four-time PM who resigned 5 months in the past after youth-led protests left 77 individuals useless. Jhapa-5 lies about 300km southeast of Kathmandu, near Nepal’s open border with India; Siliguri in West Bengal sits simply throughout the frontier and serves as a key business gateway for the area. Oli leads the Communist Celebration of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist, whose networks stay deeply rooted on this japanese constituency. Balen is working underneath the banner of Rastriya Swatantra Celebration, which is lower than 4 years outdated. The competition pits a first-time nationwide candidate towards one in all Nepal’s most sturdy political figures on floor that has not often favoured outsiders.Balen was born in Kathmandu, the youngest of 4 siblings. His father, Ram Narayan Shah, a govt ayurveda practitioner who died final Dec, described him as “brilliant and easy,” a baby who wrote poems — a behavior that endured. Balen studied civil engineering in Kathmandu and later accomplished postgraduate work in structural engineering in India. His adolescence advised self-discipline moderately than disruption.In 2013, he entered Uncooked Barz, Nepal’s most seen rap battle stage, and received. His lyrics have been pointed and unsparing, concentrating on corruption, political stagnation and the inheritance of energy by the identical figures. “Greater than a rapper, he was a poet,” one organiser stated. “He talked about suppressed individuals.”His songs travelled past the underground. On a Discord discussion board final Sept the place younger protesters mentioned who ought to steer the nation after Oli’s resignation, Balen’s identify surfaced greater than 16,000 occasions, making him essentially the most regularly talked about determine in conversations about interim management. Many Gen Z activists noticed him as their most popular successor. He declined that function, nevertheless, and publicly backed former Supreme Court docket chief justice Sushila Karki as a substitute. Balen constructed his following largely on-line, amassing hundreds of thousands of followers throughout platforms.“He speaks the language of our frustration,” stated Srijan Karki, 23, a software program developer. “Different leaders ship lengthy speeches. He makes direct statements. Even when he’s indignant, it feels real.”In 2022, working as an impartial, Balen received the Kathmandu mayoralty with 61,767 votes, defeating nominees from established events. He ruled publicly and confrontationally. Bulldozers tore down unlawful buildings, and waste assortment to Singha Durbar — which homes the PM’s workplace — was briefly halted in protest over what he described as central govt inaction.When protests convulsed Nepal in Sept 2025 and demonstrators clashed with safety forces after a crackdown underneath Oli’s govt, anger spilled onto the streets. In Nov, nonetheless serving as Kathmandu mayor, Balen channelled that fury in a midnight Fb submit: “F*** America, F*** India, F*** China, F*** UML, F*** Congress, F*** RSP, F*** RPP, F*** Maobaadi. You guys all mixed can do nothing.” Two months later, he resigned as mayor and joined RSP. Balen doesn’t repeatedly have interaction with the media. He declined Oli’s name for a public debate, as a substitute demanding that the previous PM take duty for civilians killed through the protests. He as a substitute depends on social media for outreach. Throughout platforms, he has constructed a web based viewers unmatched in Nepal — 3.5 million followers on Fb, 1 million every on Instagram on YouTube and 4,00,000 on X. The protests of Sept 2025 altered Nepal’s political ambiance. Younger Nepalis poured into the streets over unemployment, corruption and perceived impunity, and Oli resigned. Balen didn’t formally lead the demonstrations, however he grew to become carefully recognized with their tone.Aayal Sah, 23, a first-time voter from Janakpur, travelled to see him converse after he joined RSP. “I can not straight vote for Balen as he’s not contesting from our space,” Sah stated. “However I’ll absolutely vote for his occasion.”In Jhapa’s Damak city, Bipana Oli, 25, a migrant employee who returned from Kuwait to solid her poll, linked her future to the end result. “How lengthy I proceed working in Kuwait will depend upon Balen’s victory,” she stated. “And the job alternatives he creates.”