The Rapper Who Rattled Kathmandu

Nepal stands at a rare political crossroads. Six months after violent protests shook the Himalayan republic and forced the exit of former prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, voters have delivered a sweeping mandate to a new generation of leadership. At the centre of that political earthquake is Balendra Shah, the 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician whose Rastriya Swatantra Party secured a commanding majority in the parliamentary elections of March 5.

Few figures better capture the restless mood of modern Nepal. Shah, popularly known as ‘Balen,’ first gained prominence in the country’s fledgling hip-hop scene where his lyrics railed against corruption, political inertia and the hypocrisies of the ruling class. In a political culture dominated for decades by ageing leaders from the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), the rapper’s blunt rhetoric struck a chord with urban youth frustrated by stagnation and patronage politics.

Hailing from Mahottari district in Nepal’s Madhesh region, Shah possesses a cosmopolitan linguistic repertoire uncommon among the country’s younger politicians. Fluent in Nepali, English and Maithili, he has cultivated a following that stretches beyond Kathmandu’s urban middle class. Yet it is not linguistic bridge-building for which he has attracted the most attention. Rather, it is his willingness to challenge Nepal’s traditional diplomatic caution, particularly towards India.

As mayor of Kathmandu, a position he won in 2022 as a political outsider, Shah built a reputation as an anti-establishment reformer who spoke directly to frustrated voters. But he also repeatedly courted controversy. In June 2023 he ordered a ban on the screening of Indian films in Kathmandu after the Bollywood movie Adipurush included a line suggesting that Janaki, better known as the goddess Sita, was “a daughter of India”. The remark provoked nationalist outrage in Nepal, where Sita is traditionally believed to have been born in Janakpur.

Another symbolic gesture caused diplomatic ripples. Shah displayed a map of ‘Greater Nepal’ in his office, a cartographic vision that includes territories currently administered by India. Such imagery resonates with long-standing nationalist claims in Nepal, especially regarding disputed areas such as Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh - territories claimed by Kathmandu but controlled by New Delhi.

In November 2025, weeks the so-called ‘Gen Z’ protests shook the country, Shah posted a Facebook message laced with insults directed at India, the United States, China and Nepal’s own political parties including the Rastriya Swatantra Party he would later join. The post triggered a political storm and was soon deleted, but it reinforced the impression of a leader comfortable with confrontation and unfiltered rhetoric.

The electoral wave that has now carried Shah to power is remarkable even by Nepal’s turbulent standards. For decades the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML dominated the country’s politics, occasionally challenged by the Maoist movement led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as Prachanda. The Maoists’ sweeping victory in the 2008 elections, which brought Dahal to the premiership, was once considered the most dramatic upheaval in Nepal’s democratic era. Yet even that upset did not inflict the kind of comprehensive humiliation suffered by the traditional parties in the latest polls.

The four-year-old RSP has achieved what many observers thought impossible under Nepal’s complex dual-election system: a sweeping majority. The result shattered entrenched political structures. In perhaps the most symbolic contest of the campaign, Shah defeated former prime minister Oli in Jhapa-5, a constituency long regarded as a bastion of the veteran leader.

For many voters, Shah’s inexperience is evidence that he is not tainted by the compromises of the old political elite.

His party has capitalised on that sentiment with an ambitious reform agenda. The RSP has promised to investigate the assets of politicians who have held power since the 1990s, nationalise properties obtained illegally and overhaul Nepal’s judiciary by ending political appointments of judges. One proposal even suggests live-streaming court proceedings to enhance transparency.

Still, Shah’s rise raises pressing questions about Nepal’s foreign policy, especially its relationship with India. Since the signing of the India–Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1950, India has been Nepal’s most important economic partner. New Delhi continues to provide substantial development assistance while repeatedly helping Nepal during its many crises.

For Shah, the challenge will be proving that nationalist rhetoric can coexist with pragmatic diplomacy, especially with India. He should realise that rap battles are easy; managing geopolitics is harder.