Balendra Shah, aka Balen, is a 35-year-old rapper and mayor of Kathmandu now hoping to take his brand of populism to the highest office in Nepal.

In Nepal’s first election since the Gen Z protest, Balen Shah —the rapper‑turned‑Mayor of Kathmandu— is aiming to be the ...

Supporters of 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah screamed out lyrics to an AI-generated campaign song which ...

Balen – as he is popularly known – was a nobody until 2013, when he almost overnight became a rap sensation. Nearly a decade ...

On Thursday, voters in one of Asia’s poorest countries could elevate Balendra Shah, 35, and until recently mayor of the capital Kathmandu, to the top job. His main rival is KP Sharma Oli, the ...

Some 19 million people can cast their ballot tomorrow to elect the 275-member House of Representatives, a crucial step after the Generation Z Revolution. For the outgoing caretaker prime minister, thi ...

A video of an excited crowd dancing and singing to celebrate the campaign of rapper-turned-politician Balendra 'Balen' Shah ...

A year after a youth-led uprising forced out the KP Sharma Oli government, Nepal is set to hold parliamentary elections on ...

With 46% of Nepal’s population under the age of 24, the election will be a test of whether their hopes and frustrations are being taken seriously ...

In 2022, Balen Shah delivered one of the biggest political upsets in Nepal's recent history. Running as an independent candidate, the structural engineer-turned-rapper defeated nominees from the ...

Nepal enters a high-stakes "Generation Z" election this Thursday as former rapper and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah challenges veteran leader K.P. Sharma Oli for the Prime Minister’s office. Following a ...

Nepal’s parliamentary elections on March 5, 2026, represent a pivotal moment following last year’s Gen Z-led protests that ousted former PM KP Sharma Oli amid widespread anti-corruption fury. Balen ...