When rapper-turned-engineer Balendra "Balen" Shah won the 2022 local elections to become Mayor of Kathmandu, it marked a shift in Nepal's politics. Shah defeated candidates from major parties such as the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal.
Shah's victory was not an ordinary one; it marked a turning point in Nepal's political culture. From being an underdog in the 2021 Kathmandu mayoral race to now a top leader, Shah's rise in national politics is nothing short of meteoric.
Initially, the media, public, and politicians didn't pay much heed to Shah, and major political parties ignored him. On his campaign trail, he first grabbed eyes with his all-black attire and sunglasses. Shah draped the national flag over one shoulder. There was no way he was going to go unnoticed.
His crowd grew from a few curious people to hundreds, then thousands, and eventually hundreds of thousands.
When he won the Kathmandu elections in May 2022, he inherited a city with illegal and commercial buildings. In August 2022, Shah personally went to the Alpha Beta Complex in Buddhanagar to enforce building laws. He confronted property owners whose buildings or shops were illegal.
His most famous campaign targeted basement parking spaces that had been turned into shops or restaurants. Shah didn't spare anyone, not even a building owned by one of his friends, and that earned him praise from the people.
Shah is not just a city mayor but a national figure with a huge influence on public opinion. He changed the way politicians interacted with citizens. He uses social media to communicate directly and publicly address issues.
His popularity and influence are so strong that Time Magazine included him in its Top 100 list in 2023; The New York Times wrote about him.
Ahead of the March 5 general election, Shah resigned as Kathmandu mayor. He announced that he would directly fight former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in his bastion, Jhapa-5.
The elections come months after mass anti-corruption protests in September 2025 led to the removal of Oli from the PM's office.
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