Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah has been sworn in as Nepal's prime minister after a landslide victory in the country's first election since last year's youth-led protests.
The 35-year-old's rise marks an important shift in Nepali politics. His promise of change resonated with an electorate that was angry at corruption, nepotism, and elite rule.
Before taking office on Friday, Shah, popularly known as Balen, released a song filled with optimism about Nepal's future. Undivided Nepali, this time history is being made, he rapped in a track that garnered more than two million views within hours of its release.
The song harks back to his roots in the underground rap scene, where he used music to call out corruption and other social problems in Nepal. After just three years as mayor of the capital Kathmandu, Shah teamed up with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) as its prime-ministerial candidate, scoring a decisive victory in general elections this month.
His supporters see him as a symbol of change and a break from the failings of Nepal's old guard. But some question whether the four-year-old RSP is capable of making good on its bold pledges.
Shah was born in 1990 in Naradevi, Kathmandu, and is his parents' youngest son. His father is an Ayurvedic practitioner, and his mother stayed at home to bring up the family. Shah is married and lives with his wife and daughter. After leaving school, he graduated with engineering degrees in Kathmandu and later in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
In 2013, he shot to fame after winning a popular rap battle in Nepal, with sharp verses that carried the frustration of a generation that felt suppressed and abandoned. Shah went on to release several popular songs that criticized corruption and social inequality in the Himalayan nation.
Shah's message continued to resonate with the country's youth during last September's protests, in which 77 people died—many of them protesters shot by police. The unrest was triggered by a ban on social media but fueled by anger against corruption, unemployment, and economic stagnation. Protesters adopted his song Nepal Haseko as one of their anthems.
Shah's unorthodox approach to campaigning has included largely avoiding media attention and focusing on social media to communicate his messages of justice and reform, ultimately leading to his party dismantling long-standing political hierarchies in Nepal.
However, his tenure as mayor was marked by criticism regarding heavy-handed policies against street vendors, and he faces skepticism over his ability to fulfill voter expectations amid ongoing national challenges such as unemployment and a struggling economy.
