Balendra Shah, mayor of Kathmandu and a former well-known rapper, announced an alliance with the RSP party led by former TV host Rabindra Lamichhane. They are preparing to run for the prime ministership in the March 2026 election, campaigning on an anti-corruption platform in response to Gen Z's demands after bloody protests that toppled the previous government.
The two most influential young leaders currently are Balendra Shah, known as Balendra, mayor of Kathmandu and former rapper, and Rabindra Lamichhane, former popular TV host and leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). They signed a political alliance agreement on Sunday, 28 December.
Under this significant cooperation, if the RSP wins the general election scheduled for 5 March 2026, 35-year-old Balendra Shah will become the next prime minister. Meanwhile, 48-year-old Lamichhane will remain party leader. This move is seen as a smart strategy to attract young voters disillusioned with traditional politics.
This election comes earlier than scheduled following large protests by young people, or "Gen Z," in September against deeply rooted corruption. The unrest escalated, resulting in 77 deaths and forcing Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign.
Analysts say Balendra Shah is the spiritual leader of those protests, and his entry into national politics poses a major challenge to "old parties" like the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and Nepali Congress, which have alternated in power for over three decades.
However, this alliance’s path is not smooth, as Lamichhane is currently out on bail facing a cooperative fraud case, and Shah has been criticized for communicating mostly via social media rather than public appearances during the protests.
A spokesperson for Nepali Congress commented that this alliance consists of "leaders full of controversies" and believes that the public will continue to choose more experienced political parties.
Currently, Nepal has nearly 19 million eligible voters, with over 1 million new young candidates added to the voter list following the protests, making this election a closely watched milestone for Nepal’s political transition.
/sourceReuters