Who is Balendra Shah: All you need to know about former rapper who Gen Z wants to be Nepal's next Prime Minister

After unrest in Nepal and protests against the prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, he was forced to resign from his post. Now, the Gen Zs are pitching the current Kathmandu mayor, Balendra Shah, as the next PM.

Amidst all the chaos in India's neighboring country, let's take a look at who Balendra Shah is.

Balendra Shah is a rapper

According to an NDTV report, Balendra Shah, aka Balen, is currently holding the post of mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Reportedly, he completed his civil engineering degree before completing his master's degree in structural engineering from India's Visvesvaraya Technological University.But for the unknown, before making his debut in politics, he was a lyricist and rapper.

Being a part of Nepal's underground hip-hop scene, he always took a dig at inequality and corruption in the country. He also raised major issues through his music.

Elected as mayor of Kathmandu

In 2022, Balen won the Kathmandu mayoral election with over 61,000 votes. As per the report, he participated in the contest as an independent candidate.On the personal front, according to the report, Balendra Shah is married to Sabina Kafle.

More about nationwide protests in Nepal

The protests happened after the government of Nepal banned 26 social media platforms, which also included Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.

The massive protest by the young generation received support from Balendra Shah.He shared a post that read, "The rally is clearly a spontaneous movement of Gen-Z, for whom even I may seem old. I want to understand their aspirations, objectives, and thinking. Political parties, leaders, activists, lawmakers, and campaigners should not be oversmart to use this rally for their own interests."He extended his "full support" to the protests.

Gen Zs pitching Balen as the next PM

A post read, "The difference between Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal is we have a potential prime minister among us who will work only for the good of country without personal interest. Balen for PM." Another one shared, "Dear Balen, Take LEAD now or Never. Nepal is behind you. Go ahead." Here's what people posted on X.