In a country long governed by men twice his age, Balendra Shah spent his twenties writing rap lyrics about corruption and state neglect. Now, at 35, he is poised to run it.
Shah, known across Nepal simply as “Balen,” is set to become the country’s next prime minister after his centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party secured a historic landslide in parliamentary elections held on March 5. This was the first vote since a youth-led uprising last September toppled the government of veteran Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and left 77 people dead.
The results, certified by Nepal’s Election Commission, were a repudiation of a political establishment that has governed the Himalayan nation of 30 million for decades. Mr. Shah’s party won at least 117 of 165 directly contested seats, while Mr. Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal received just seven. The Nepali Congress, a storied institution that once defined democratic politics in the country, won 17. Its new leader was defeated by an RSP candidate.
The margin of Mr. Shah’s personal victory was itself symbolic. He chose to contest the Jhapa-5 constituency, which Mr. Oli’s own stronghold, a political home turf the 74-year-old had commanded for a generation. The final tally: 68,348 votes for Shah, 18,734 for Oli. Mr. Oli posted congratulations on X, wishing the younger man a “smooth and successful” term.
“It is the victory of hope and change,” said Ramesh Paudyal, a senior RSP leader. “The true tribute to the Gen Z martyrs will be expressed through the work carried out every day.”
Balen Shah’s rise is among the most improbable in recent South Asian political history. Born in Kathmandu to a father who practiced Ayurvedic medicine and a homemaker mother, he trained as a structural engineer before discovering rap music, drawing inspiration from Tupac Shakur and 50 Cent. His songs, targeting inequality and state dysfunction, became anthems of the September protests that ultimately ended Mr. Oli’s tenure.
In 2022, he stunned the political establishment by winning the Kathmandu mayoral election as an independent, defeating candidates backed by every major party. He governed with a focus on waste management, urban infrastructure and health services, while drawing criticism from Human Rights Watch over enforcement actions against street vendors and the urban poor.
He resigned as mayor in January 2026 to join the RSP and stand for parliament. The party’s campaign was meticulously organised. He had more than 660 social media staff, significant funding from the Nepali diaspora, particularly in the United States, and communicated with his 3.5 million Facebook followers directly, largely bypassing the mainstream press.
“What makes Balen special,” said independent political analyst Puranjan Acharya, “is that he stays connected with youth through short messages on social media. But it would not be a cakewalk for him after becoming prime minister.”
The challenges are formidable. Nepal is wedged between China and India, two giants whose competing interests have long shaped its foreign policy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a congratulatory message, pledged to work toward “shared peace, progress and prosperity.” Managing those relationships, alongside expectations of a generation that risked their lives last autumn to demand change, will define Mr. Shah’s premiership.
Mr. Acharya and other analysts note that governing is a different discipline from protest or mayoralty. Provincial elections were deferred during the crisis; economic reform, endemic brain drain and rebuilding public trust remain urgent priorities.
Still, for now, Kathmandu’s buses carry stickers that read: Headed to Balen’s city. The city, it seems, has become the country.
