Balendra Shah, the rapper-turned-mayor of Nepal, is getting ready for the most important political battle of his life: a direct contest against veteran leader KP Sharma Oli in the former prime minister’s home district.
The neatly dressed 35-year-old, better known by his stage as Balen, has become a symbol of youth-driven political revolution after supporting the large-scale anti-corruption demonstrations that overthrew Oli’s Marxist-led government last year.
He was a schoolboy during Nepal’s ten-year Maoist civil war, which lasted from 1996 to 2006 and claimed thousands of lives until the monarchy was overthrown. He was born in Kathmandu in 1990.
Trained as a civil engineer, he 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, as he readies for March 5 elections in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people.
“If a person involved in politics also engages in literature or music, it becomes emotionally driven,” Shah told AFP during his campaign.
“We also need to nurture the emotional aspect of our lives, and a politician should possess that sensitivity.”
He developed a loyal fan base on social media thanks to his music, which has received millions of views online. He still prefers social media to traditional media when interacting with his fans.
This popularity resulted in a political shock in 2022, as Shah shocked Nepal’s long-standing political establishment by becoming the first independent candidate elected mayor of Kathmandu.
He established campaigns against tax evasion, traffic jams, and improper waste management in the city while serving as mayor, earning a reputation as a direct and frequently combative reformer.
But his tenure also attracted criticism for heavy-handed enforcement and for bypassing journalists in favour of broadcasting directly to millions of followers online.
*
Email *
Website
