Nepal’s political landscape is shifting ahead of March 5 parliamentary elections as rapper-turned Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, widely known as Balen, teams up with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Under the alliance, Balen will be prime minister if the RSP wins, while party founder Rabi Lamichhane remains chief. The pact follows deadly Gen Z–led protests in September against corruption that forced then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign.
Why It Matters
The alliance threatens to upend a political order long dominated by the Nepali Congress and communist parties. Youth anger over corruption, unemployment and elite rule has translated into new voters and fresh political energy, giving outsiders a rare opening to challenge entrenched parties. If successful, the Balen–Lamichhane partnership could mark the strongest generational shift in Nepalese politics in decades.
Balen and Lamichhane are positioning themselves as the voices of frustrated young voters, while traditional parties fear losing their grip on power. Nearly 19 million Nepalese are eligible to vote, with around one million new voters mostly youth added after the protests. Critics question Balen’s leadership style and Lamichhane’s legal troubles, while established parties dismiss the alliance as overhyped.
What’s Next
The campaign is expected to intensify as parties court young voters newly mobilised by protest politics. The key test will be whether the alliance can convert online popularity and street anger into ballots. A strong showing by the RSP could fracture Nepal’s traditional power-sharing model, while a weak result would reinforce the dominance of the old guard.
With information from Reuters.
