"Facing thousands of raucous supporters, 35-year-old Balendra Shah lifted his signature black rectangular sunglasses, asked his audience to look him in the eye, and said: I love you. It is a sentiment that millions of young Nepalis appear to reciprocate."
"Balen was a nobody until 2013, when he almost overnight became a rap sensation. Nearly a decade later, in May 2022, he stunned Nepal's deeply entrenched mainstream political parties by winning the post of mayor of Kathmandu, the country's capital, while contesting as an independent."
"When the Himalayan nation of 30 million people erupted in popular protests against the government of then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in September 2025, Balen emerged as a high-profile backer of the protesters. He was the first choice of many Gen Z activists to take over as interim leader after Oli was forced to resign."
Balendra Shah, known as Balen, rose from obscurity as a rap artist to become Kathmandu's mayor in 2022 as an independent candidate, defying established political parties. During Nepal's 2025 protests against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Balen gained prominence as a Gen Z activist favorite, though he strategically supported former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki for interim leadership. Now, as Nepal prepares for parliamentary elections following Karki's term, Balen is leveraging his popularity to pursue the prime minister position. He is contesting from Jhapa-5, a Communist Party stronghold 300km southeast of Kathmandu, directly challenging Oli himself. Running as a candidate for the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, Balen represents a challenge to Nepal's entrenched mainstream political establishment.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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