As the new party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) scored a landslide victory in Nepal's general election, Balendra Shah, the RSP's candidate for prime minister and former Kathmandu mayor, is drawing attention. Shah, a 36-year-old former rapper-turned-politician, is regarded as a key figure who led last year's large anti-government protests spearheaded by Generation Z.
According to local outlets including the Kathmandu Post on the 9th (local time), as of the afternoon the RSP had secured 124 of the 165 seats in the lower house, delivering an overwhelming performance in the general election. Of the four constituencies where counting is still underway, the RSP was also leading in one (Gorkha-1).
In particular, Shah, the RSP's candidate for prime minister, won about 68,300 votes in the eastern Jhapa-5 constituency, decisively defeating former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who received about 18,700 votes, and was confirmed elected. Given that he entered politics after winning the Kathmandu mayoralty as an independent in 2022, observers say he is building his career at a remarkable pace.
Born in 1990 to a devout Buddhist family, Shah is a politician who was formerly a rapper and engineer, and is said to have been active in Nepal's hip-hop scene since 2012, when he was in his early 20s. He was born in Madhesh Province in the southeast, which borders India, but moved to the capital, Kathmandu, following his father, a local traditional medicine practitioner, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering in his home country and in India. Black sunglasses are considered his trademark.
Showing talent for poetry from a young age, Shah gained wider recognition in Nepal's underground hip-hop scene by releasing music that criticized corruption and inequality among the elite. His debut single "Sadak Balak" (Nepali for street children) drew attention for lyrics capturing the struggles of urban youth and served as his springboard into Nepal's hip-hop community and YouTube rap competitions.
With millions of followers on social media, Shah leveraged the momentum of young voters to run for Kathmandu mayor in 2022, pulling off an upset in Nepal's political landscape. He then focused on chronic issues such as waste management, traffic control improvements and ensuring access to medical services, gaining nationwide popularity.
Shah also appears to have cemented his image as a "leader" through his active social media presence during last year's youth-led anti-government protests in Nepal. On social media, he publicly backed the demonstrators, saying, "Thanks to the dedication and sacrifice of Generation Z, the country has changed greatly," and protesters are said to have sung in unison at rallies his song "Nepal Haaseko" ("Smiling Nepal").
Shah then joined the new party RSP in December and is said to have risen to the position of candidate for prime minister. The party was launched in 2022 by Rabi Lamichhane, a former TV program host who gained popularity through an anti-corruption campaign, and won big in this general election by fronting young candidates and promoting technocrat-centered pragmatism and digital-based policies.
However, there are many hurdles the RSP must clear to push reforms in Nepal's political sphere. To implement key pledges such as introducing direct election of the prime minister and judicial reform, it needs support from the National Assembly, the upper house equivalent, which has 59 seats, but the RSP currently holds none there. That is why observers say negotiations or a coalition with established political forces will be unavoidable for the separately held upper house election.
Controversy also surrounds Shah. Earlier, during his tenure as Kathmandu mayor, he came under fire for forcibly removing street vendors during urban redevelopment and for allegedly bulldozing some slums indiscriminately. He has also sharply criticized foreign governments including India, China and the United States, as well as Nepal's entire political class; during a recent campaign speech, he stirred backlash by saying that contractors who obstruct roadwork "should be tied to trees, locked in warehouses or laid down on the road."