Balen Shah's Unconventional Election Campaign Strategy on Social Media

Biratnagar. Political parties officially began their election campaigning for the House of Representatives elections on February 4th. However, on social media, the flood of campaigning started as early as January 20th, the day candidacies were registered.

Political activists with large followings on Facebook are promoting their preferred parties and election symbols. Yet, Balendra Shah, a senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) with over 3.5 million followers, has not promoted his party or its election symbol on his Facebook page. Furthermore, he has not asked people to vote for himself through his page.

According to sources close to Balen, he avoided campaigning on his page due to the fear of being labeled as a 'Facebook politician' by opponents. He stated, 'This time, the goal is to win the election without campaigning on Facebook. If I won the Kathmandu Mayor election with Facebook's help, people might say I won this time with Facebook's help too. Our policy this time is not to ask for votes from my page.'

The source also mentioned that Balen has not even displayed the party flag on his vehicle nor used the 'Bell' symbol tag. 'We won't use the Bell logo, nor will we put flags on the vehicle,' he said. Balen has made 29 posts on his Facebook page since Poush 29th (December 14th). On Poush 29th, an agreement was reached between RSP and Balen for him to join the party, and RSP put forward Balen as a future Prime Ministerial candidate. On the morning of the same day, Balen posted a photo of himself signing the draft agreement with Rabi Lamichhane on his Facebook page, writing 'Good Morning' and sharing the Bell symbol. Since then, he has not posted about RSP or the Bell.

On Poush 30th (December 15th), he shared a photo of Rabi and Kulman sitting together, writing, 'I want to see Nepal smile.' On Poush 31st (December 16th), he shared a photo with Sudan Gurung and praised Sudan for his efforts to build the nation.

After that, on Magh 13th (January 27th), he wished everyone on Prithvi Narayan Shah's birth anniversary, and in another post, shared his own photo simply writing, 'Greetings to everyone, we are coming,' signaling his entry into the electoral race. He also extended greetings for Maghe Sankranti.

On Magh 18th (January 16th), while wishing for Earthquake Safety Day, he gave some political messages. In that context, he wrote: 'The time has come to move forward on the journey of nation-building now.'

Similarly, he extended greetings for Lhosar on Magh 21st (January 4th), and on the 22nd, deciding to contest the election in Jhapa-5, he wrote early in the morning: 'Jhapa-5'. However, unlike other party candidates, he did not mention the party or the election symbol.

After registering his candidacy in Jhapa-5, Balen, who stayed in Jhapa for two days before starting his electoral campaign from Taplejung, has given no indication of this on his Facebook. On Magh 25th (January 9th), he posted a photo after visiting the Pathibhara temple in Taplejung, writing, 'Victory to Pathibhara, Victory to Muklung.'

Subsequently, during his tour of the hilly districts of the Far West, on Magh 30th (January 14th), he posted a photo of a snowy path, writing, 'Far West is not far now, I love you very much.'

The next day, Magh 31st (January 15th), Balen wrote that he was going to Bajura, expressing hope that Goddess Badimalika would bless everyone. On Magh 32nd (January 16th), on the occasion of Martyrs' Day, he wrote a status suggesting that although the system has changed multiple times, the character of power has not, sending a message that they have come to fulfill the dreams of the martyrs.

On the same day, he posted a photo from Karnali. On Magh 34th (January 18th), Balen offered condolences to Dinesh Sitoula, who died while campaigning for his election, along with Dinesh's photo, without saying anything about the election campaign.

On Magh 37th (January 21st), after reaching Saptakoshi, he posted a photo of himself boating while describing Khualung. During that visit, he shared a photo from the Udaipur Cement Industry area in Udaipur. On Magh 38th (January 22nd), he addressed his supporters with a two-line status: 'There is only love across the country; love the country like this, and the country will be built.'

On Magh 40th (January 24th), Balen posted a photo of the crowd's enthusiasm seen at the Jhapa Gold Cup and wrote a status. On Magh 41st (January 25th), he wished the Nepali team luck for playing in the Cricket World Cup, recalling that Nepal defeated Afghanistan and Hong Kong in the 2014 World Cup, and praised the excellent performance of cricketer Gyanendra Malla from that time. Moreover, he titled a post 'From Cricket to Parliament,' noting that Gyanendra Malla was a proportional representation candidate.

On Falgun 17th (February 12th), he posted a photo of himself at Gorkha Durbar in Gorkha, writing, 'One Nation, One Nepal, Today Gorkha Durbar.' On Falgun 19th (February 14th), on the occasion of Shivaratri, Balen posted a photo of Pashupatinath Temple, writing the status, 'Har Har Mahadev, Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah' (Religion protects those who protect it).