Nepal's rapper-mayor in pole position to become prime minister

Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician and the prime ministerial candidate for Rastriya Swatantra Party, interacts with locals ahead of Nepal’s general election, at a RSP office in Damak in Jhapa district, in Nepal, February 25, 2026. - Reuters

KATHMANDU: After Nepal's historic youth-led uprising last September killed 77 people and forced then-Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli to resign, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician posted a typically terse message to millions of followers on social media.

"Dear Gen Z, the resignation of your killer has come," Balendra Shah - popularly known only as Balen - wrote. "Now your generation will have to lead the country. Be prepared."