A 35-year-old rapper turned mayor, Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, looks set to become Nepal’s youngest-ever prime minister. His party, Rastriya Swatantra, or RSP, secured a landslide victory in the March 5 election—the first since deadly Gen Z–led protests last year, when more than 75 people were killed during four days of unrest in September.
Balen’s win marks a major shift away from traditional old-guard parties. His party has secured 125 out of 165 directly elected parliamentary seats, as the counting reaches its final stage. Everyone knew that people wanted change in the country, but no one knew they wanted it quite this much.
The Parliament of Nepal has a total of 275 seats. While 165 members are elected through the first-past-the-post, single-member district system, the other 110 members are elected through proportional representation. As vote counting continues in Nepal, as of latest data, with around 10.5 million votes counted, the RSP has received just more than five million, accounting for roughly 48 percent of the total.
The RSP party is almost close to winning a supermajority. If the party achieves a two-thirds majority, it would also be the first time in decades that a single party has achieved this milestone. A supermajority in Nepal gives a party the numbers it needs to change the Constitution. In Parliament, it means the party can pass constitutional amendments without relying heavily on other parties. It also makes it much easier to push through major laws and structural reforms.
One striking measure of the overwhelming nature of the win: Shah ran against former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in his own district. And Shah crushed him there, receiving more than 78 percent of the vote.
This victory is not just another election story. It is the story of a generation that refused to accept the same tired faces and the same old excuses. The election result reflects deep frustration with decades of political instability, corruption, underdevelopment, nepotism, and youth unemployment. After years of Nepal’s politics being dominated by a triumvirate of parties, voters have rung the bell for change. Nepali voters aren’t just switching parties. They are emphatically defenestrating an old guard tainted by allegations of corruption and political impunity.
Nepal has struggled with political instability for decades. Since 2008, the country has seen 14 different governments, not one of which has completed a full five-year term. Corruption has permeated every level of politics. Youth unemployment is around 20 percent, forcing thousands of young people to toil abroad as migrants.
The protests last year were the breaking point. What started as anger over a proposed social media ban exploded into a broader demand for accountability. The September 8–9 protests by the Nepal’s Gen Z led to the collapse of the Oli government, the dissolution of Parliament, and appointment of a new interim prime minister. Sushila Karki, a former chief justice and staunch anti-corruption campaigner, was installed as the prime minister of an interim government on September 12 after a four-day power vacuum. It left Parliament, courts, and government buildings in flames.
Balen Shah is an engineer and rapper whose songs focus on poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment, and corruption in the country. His song “Balidan,” which means sacrifice, is widely popular among youths. He is punchy and mysterious. He hardly gives interviews or press conferences. He always wears dark sunglasses, even inside. He communicates with people through social media and has a huge following.
He emerged as a trusted leader during last fall’s protests. Rabi Lamichhane, the 51-year-old chairperson of the RSP, and the 35-year-old Shah formed an alliance ahead of the election. Both leaders pledged to address the demands of the younger generation.
So now that Balen will have power, can he deliver? Shah and the RSP convinced people that they would work for good governance. As mayor, Shah earned a reputation for results by bringing down commercial and residential buildings that were built without proper permits. He widened the roads of Kathmandu’s major cities, and his administration managed garbage collection efficiently. He needs to scale all that up nationally, and he should prioritize practical steps like investing in education and skills training to keep young talent at home.
Foreign policy also looms large, given Nepal’s geographic situation of being wedged between China and India. Balen Shah is a face of a nationalistic generation that views relations with those countries through a lens of equality. For many younger Nepalis, this means moving away from the old habit of quietly accepting pressure from its bigger neighbors.
China has expanded its presence in Nepal in recent years through infrastructure promises, political outreach, and strategic projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. India, meanwhile, has long had deep economic, cultural, and security ties with Kathmandu. Shah’s rhetoric reflects a growing feeling that Nepal should engage both countries with confidence rather than caution. He has often spoken about protecting national sovereignty and making decisions based on Nepal’s interests first. In that sense, his approach suggests that Nepal should cooperate with both India and China but not tilt too heavily toward either side. The emphasis is on balance, transparency, and a foreign policy that treats Nepal as a partner.
With an outright majority—something rare in Nepal’s electoral history—he has a fighting chance to actually enact an agenda. Previous prime ministers spent half their time keeping fragile alliances alive. Balen will not. He can move quickly on a 100-day plan for transparency, asset checks on officials, and digital systems that reduce human discretion in contracts and permits. His track record in Kathmandu suggests he knows how to get visible results fast.
Some critics worry that Balen’s direct style—blunt on social media, quick to call out opponents—could create unnecessary tussles. Governing a whole country is not the same as running one city. The bureaucracy, even in a small country like Nepal, is vast and resistant.
Still, Nepali voters have spoken clearly. For Nepal, this landslide offers a genuine opportunity to break free from the disappointment. Balen may stumble as most leaders do at first, but he starts with something previous governments never had: a clear mandate and a public that is watching closely.
For anyone who believes democracies can still renew themselves, Nepal is worth watching. Root for the experiment. Because if a rapper from the streets of Kathmandu can make government work for ordinary people, the lesson will travel far beyond the Himalayas.
