- Title: Nepal election could lift Balendra Shah from rapper-mayor prime minister
- Date: 2nd March 2026
- Summary: KATHMANDU, NEPAL (FEBRUARY 28, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS OF RAPPER-TURNED-POLITICIAN AND PRIME MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE FOR THE RASHTRIYA SWATANTRA PARTY (RSP), BALENDRA SHAH, MARCHING DURING ELECTION CAMPAIGN RALLY POLICE TRYING TO CONTROL SURGE OF SHAH'S SUPPORTERS DURING RALLY CROWD OF SHAH'S SUPPORTERS AT RALLY SHAH CLIMBING ONTO VEHICLE AND DANCING AS SUPPORT
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- Keywords: Balendra Shah GenZ Himalayas Kathmandu Mayor Nepal Prime Minister Rapper campaign candidate corruption elections jobs politics protests road show supporters unemployment uprising violence
- Location: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
- City: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
- Country: Nepal
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001948128022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Residents across Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Saturday (February 28) erupted in impromptu song and dance to celebrate the dawn to dusk campaign of Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned mayor, who is widely seen as the front-runner in the general elections due on March 5.
A sea of supporters greeted Shah as he criss-crossed through the capital and its peripheral towns, turning streets into rivers of blue - his party's election colour.
After Nepal's historic youth-led uprising last September killed 77 people and forced then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign, Shah 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."
Five months on, the musician who cut his political teeth when he became the mayor of the capital Kathmandu in 2022, is dominating the race to become Nepal's next prime minister after a general election on March 5.
If Shah is able to take power, it would cap a dramatic rise for a man who entered the public spotlight with rap music critical of the establishment and parlayed his popularity to ascend to high political office.
It would also potentially reshape the politics of Nepal, a small Himalayan nation wedged between China and India, that has long been dominated by a handful of established parties.
(Production: Thomas Suen, Sunil Kataria) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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