“Nepal polls: Can Balen Shah vanquish the old guard?”, First Post, March 05, 2026

“As Nepal heads into its most gripping election in years, the Himalayan nation’s old political heavyweights are struggling not just for votes, but also for legitimacy. Nearly 19 million people, including 800,000 first-time voters, will participate in the 5 March election, which comes months after deadly youth-led protests toppled the coalition government led by CPN-UML chairman K.P. Sharma Oli and dissolved parliament.

Nepal has since been governed by an interim government led by former chief justice and staunch anti-corruption campaigner Sushila Karki, which promised to hold fresh elections within six months. Nepal’s political churn matters to its neighbour India, which shares an open border with Nepal.

Balen Shah, a rapper-turned-Kathmandu mayor, has become a symbol of disruption. The alliance between the millennial mayor of Kathmandu, Balen Shah, known as Balen, and chairperson of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rabi Lamichhane, ahead of the March elections is poised to challenge the older parties in Nepal, which have been in power for over three decades…..”

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