Balendra Shah (AP Photo)
His songs fostered a protest generation. now former kathmandu mayor The former prime minister is taking on Oli and asking voters to imagine him running the country.Kathmandu: Everyone wants to take selfie with Balendra Shah.In Jhapa district on Sunday, as Nepal prepared for its March 5 elections, the line turned towards a dusty courtyard in the eastern plains. A volunteer kept the line moving and gave each supporter barely 10 seconds — a handshake, a smile, a photo. A seven-year-old girl said, “Despite having a fever, I have come here to see Balen.” A middle-aged woman admitted that she had skipped a heart check-up. “Just for a photo.”
Balen stood in the center of the crowd – dark blazer, trimmed beard, rectangular black sunglasses. It is a look so closely associated with him that shops in Kathmandu once ran out of his favorite frames, and online retailers still sell them as ‘Balen Shah Glasses’. When the man – known as Balen – steps onto a campaign stage, the crowd often shows him in a black shirt and dark shades. He takes off his sunglasses only briefly. “Look at me,” he says. “I love you.” Balen, who will turn 36 next month, is contesting the parliamentary election from Jhapa-5 against four-time Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, 74, who resigned five months ago after youth-led protests killed 77 people. Jhapa-5 is located about 300 km southeast of Kathmandu, close to Nepal’s open border with India; Siliguri in West Bengal lies just across the border and serves as a major commercial gateway to the region. Oli leads the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist, whose network is deeply entrenched in this eastern constituency. Balen is running under the banner of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, which is less than four years old. The contest pits a first-time national candidate against one of Nepal’s most enduring political figures, who has rarely favored outsiders.Balen was born in Kathmandu, the youngest of four siblings. His father, Ram Narayan Shah, a government Ayurveda doctor who died last December, described him as “brilliant and simple”, a child who used to write poems – a habit that persisted. Balen studied civil engineering in Kathmandu and later completed postgraduate work in structural engineering in India. His early life suggested discipline rather than disruption.In 2013, he entered and won Nepal’s most visible rap battle stage, Raw Barz. His lyrics were sharp and bold, targeting corruption, political stagnation and the inheritance of power by the same personalities. One organizer said, “More than a rapper, he was a poet.” “He talked about the oppressed.”His songs traveled far beyond the underground. Last September on a Discord forum where young protesters discussed who should lead the country after Oli’s resignation, Balen’s name appeared more than 16,000 times, making him the most frequently mentioned person in conversations about interim leadership. Many Gen Z workers saw him as their preferred successor. However, he rejected that role and instead publicly supported former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki. Ballen built his following extensively online, amassing millions of followers across various platforms.“He speaks the language of our desperation,” said Srijan Karki, 23, a software developer. “Other leaders give long speeches. He gives direct statements.” Even when he’s angry, it still feels genuine.In 2022, running as an independent, Balen won the Kathmandu mayor’s post with 61,767 votes, defeating candidates from established parties. He ruled publicly and confrontationally. Bulldozers demolished illegal structures, and garbage collection at Singha Durbar – where the prime minister’s office is located – was temporarily stopped, which he described as inaction by the central government.When protests broke out in Nepal in September 2025 and protesters clashed with security forces following a crackdown under the Oli government, anger spilled over into the streets. In November, while serving as mayor of Kathmandu, Balen expressed his anger in a Facebook post at midnight: “F*** America, F*** India, F*** China, F*** UML, F*** Congress, F*** RSP, F*** RPP, F*** Maoists. You all can’t do anything together.” Two months later, he resigned as mayor and joined the RSP. Balen does not interact with the media regularly. He rejected Oli’s call for a public debate, instead demanding that the former PM take responsibility for civilians killed during the protests. Instead he relies on social media for outreach. Across all platforms, he has built an unmatched online audience in Nepal – 3.5 million followers on Facebook, 1 million on Instagram, 1 million on YouTube and 4,00,000 followers on TikTok. The September 2025 protests changed the political climate of Nepal. Young Nepalese took to the streets to protest unemployment, corruption and alleged impunity, and Oli resigned. Ballen did not formally lead the demonstrations, but he became closely acquainted with their tone.Ayal Sah, 23, a first-time voter from Janakpur, traveled to see him speak after joining the RSP. “I cannot directly vote for Balen as he is not contesting from our constituency,” Sah said. “But I will definitely vote for his party.”In Jhapa’s Damak town, Bipana Oli, a 25-year-old migrant worker who returned from Kuwait to cast her vote, linked her future to the result. “How long I will continue to work in Kuwait will depend on Baleen’s victory,” she said. “And that creates job opportunities.”