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Generation Z protests/ Former Nepali rapper to run for prime minister

2025-12-29 10:03:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Generation Z protests/ Former Nepali rapper to run for prime minister

Two prominent leaders have formed an alliance ahead of Nepal's March parliamentary elections that will challenge the old parties that have dominated the Himalayan nation's politics for more than three decades, party officials and analysts said on Monday.

Kathmandu rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, on Sunday joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), or independent national party, led by former television host-turned-politician Rabi Lamichhane, party officials said.

They said that under the agreement with the RSP, 35-year-old Balen will become prime minister if the RSP wins the March 5 elections, while Lamichhane, 48, will remain the party leader.

Both have pledged to address demands raised during the "Generation Z" or youth-led protests against widespread corruption in September, in which 77 people were killed and led to the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

"It is a very smart and strategic move by the RSP to bring Bale and his new supporters into its ranks," said analyst Bipin Adhikari.

"Traditional political parties are struggling for fear of losing their young voters to the RSP," he said.

The Election Commission says nearly 19 million of Nepal's 30 million people are eligible to vote in the election. Nearly a million voters - mostly young people - were added after the protests.

Baleni was in the spotlight after the protests and was an unannounced leader of the youth who led the September protests.

He also helped form the caretaker government of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, which will oversee the vote.

Some critics have questioned Balen's role during the protests, saying he rarely appeared in public and addressed supporters only on social media.

Oli's Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) or UML and the central Nepali Congress party have shared power between them for most of the past three decades and are most likely to be challenged by Balen.

Lamichhane formed the RSP ahead of the 2022 elections and is known for his anti-corruption campaign as a television host./CNA, translated by Reuters





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