December 29, 2025
Ex-Nepal rapper to run for prime minister in crucial vote after Gen Z protests
Balendra Shah, 35, a former rapper and composer who currently serves as the mayor of Kathmandu, popularly known as “Balen,” attends the Indra Jatra festival at Kathmandu Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 6, 2025. — Reuters Two populist leaders have formed an alliance ahead of Nepal’s March parliamentary elections that will challenge the older parties that have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for more than three decades, party officials and analysts said Monday. Rapper-turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), or national independent party, led by former TV anchor-turned-politician











