Kathmandu, Mar 2: Nepal’s upcoming general election is shaping up as a high-stakes generational contest, with rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah popularly known as Balen, challenging former prime minister KP Sharma Oli in what observers describe as a battle between Gen Z voters and the country’s entrenched political establishment.
The election comes months after deadly anti-corruption protests in September forced Oli to resign. At least 77 people were killed during the unrest, many of them young protesters allegedly shot by police. The demonstrations initially erupted over a social media ban but soon escalated into wider anger over corruption and lack of opportunities for young people.
More than 915,000 first-time voters are expected to cast ballots in the election, which has nearly 19 million eligible voters overall. Youth unemployment stands at 20.6 per cent — among the highest in South Asia, according to the World Bank — making job creation a central campaign issue.
Shah, 35, who rose to prominence as a rapper before entering politics, has relied heavily on social media and AI-generated campaign songs to mobilise supporters, largely avoiding traditional media interviews. His campaign centres on economic reform and employment generation.
He is contesting directly against Oli in Jhapa-5, long considered a safe seat for the veteran leader. At campaign rallies, Shah’s supporters chanted slogans and sang lyrics from his campaign anthem: “Time’s up, Fake leaders, Game Over. We’ll ring the bell on 5 March.”
“We don’t want the same old parties to rule our country,” said one young supporter. Another added, “We protested because we wanted change,” while an 18-year-old voter said, “We want to fight for the young people who died in the Gen-Z movement.”
However, Shah has also faced criticism over his tenure as mayor of Kathmandu, where rights groups accused him of using heavy-handed police measures against street vendors while enforcing urban regulations. His limited engagement with the press has drawn further scrutiny from opponents.
Oli, meanwhile, has said his party “wants to understand the feelings of the new generation” and pledged to do its “best” to “develop the country.” He has emphasised restoring “sovereignty” as well as “peace and democracy” if voted back to office.
The former prime minister has also suggested that the protests that led to his resignation were influenced by an “international conspiracy,” though no evidence has been publicly presented. Some of his supporters echoed the claim, with one saying, “We think that it was designed by other people, not the public of Nepal.”
Political analyst Nishchal N Pandey described the vote as historic. “None of our governments have survived their full terms in office in decades. These are historic elections,” he said, adding that voters are “tired of the same old faces” and seeking a generational shift.
For over three decades, Nepal has witnessed fragile coalition governments dominated by three major parties — the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist–Leninist (CPN-UML), the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and the Nepali Congress.
A Shah victory could potentially mark the first government or coalition in many years without a communist party at its core, signalling a major shift in Nepal’s political landscape after decades of instability.
The outcome will test whether Gen Z activism can translate into electoral success and reshape the future of Nepal’s democracy.
