KATHMANDU — Nepal’s rapper-turned-politician mayor Balendra Shah is the new prime minister of the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, just over six months since mass anti-corruption protests toppled the government.
Better known as Balen, the sharply dressed 35-year-old — one of the world’s youngest premiers — swept to power promising youth-driven political change.
He gave his victory speech in a rap song ahead of being sworn into office on Friday, where he sang that “unity is my national power.”
Shah’s rise to power was a bold gamble by the reformist, who resigned as Kathmandu mayor to challenge and defeat veteran Marxist leader KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old four-time ex-premier, in his own seat.
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.
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,” Shah told Agence France-Presse (AFP) during his campaign, a rare interview by a man who has barely spoken in public since his election win.
“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 favor over traditional outlets for communicating with supporters.
That popularity translated into a political shock in 2022, when 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.
‘Social justice’
Shah resigned as mayor in January to run in the general elections, the first since mass protests in September overthrew Oli.
Rather than running from his Kathmandu base, Shah chose to challenge Oli directly in Jhapa-5, a largely rural constituency around 300 kilometers southeast of the capital.
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,” Shah said, describing a vision of “a liberal economic system with social justice,” including free education and health care for the poor.
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.
They quickly grew into a broader movement against corruption and economic stagnation. At least 77 people were killed during the unrest.