Balen Shah Navigates Intense Campaign Trail, Expressing Frustration Over Overwhelming Crowds

Biratnagar. Balen Shah, a candidate for the Jhapa 5 constituency, visited the home of a local resident in his constituency. There, he spoke with an elderly man suffering from cancer and his family. During the conversation, Balen said, 'It has come to the point where one has to sell their fields and land for cancer treatment.' The victim replied, 'It's family, after all.'

Similarly, Balen met an elderly woman named Shivamaya in Damak. During this encounter, the elderly woman tearfully pleaded with Balen for justice, stating that her son had been murdered abroad. Balen was unable to offer any immediate response.

Indeed, Balen Shah is currently meeting with the elderly, youth, disabled, poor, and landless people in his constituency. During these interactions, he is being hugged, cried over, celebrated, and photographed by those who show him affection.

Balendra Shah, a senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and a contender for the future Prime Minister's post, is competing against CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa 5. Amidst this intense competition with Oli, he wishes to campaign as described above, but he has started complaining about not being able to campaign in that manner.

Balen addressed a rally in Janakpur on Magh 5 for only about 10 minutes. Following that, concern spread among his supporters. 'Is he only going to give a 10-minute speech? This is too long; it must be shortened under any circumstances,' said a leader close to Balen in the RSP. 'After that, we suggested he shorten his speeches.'

Exactly one month later, Balen addressed a gathering in Dhangadhi on Wednesday for just 3 minutes. Videos publicly showed that before Balen reached the venue, the massive crowd made it very difficult for him to get onto the stage. In his Dhangadhi speech, he said, 'The Sudurpashchim must be made a prosperous province. RSP has not come here to ask for votes. We have come to ask for work; please give us work, okay?' According to those close to him, Balen has recently started feeling exhausted by the crowds.

On Tuesday (Magh 5), Balen spent an hour in the landless settlements in the tea garden area of Damak in Jhapa 5, making impromptu visits to voters and locals. There was not a large crowd during the visit. Wherever Balen went, a crowd would gather. Many were surprised not to see a crowd on Tuesday. However, those close to Balen say he scheduled impromptu visits because attending pre-scheduled programs resulted in him being surrounded by supporters.

'When we go to meet voters, there is a crowd for photos, and when we try to talk, we don't get time,' said a member of his secretariat. 'When we try to discuss the landless issue, people come saying, 'Let the documents be sorted out later, just take one photo first.' Balen feels threatened by his own supporters. 'It feels like my own fans might crush me to death,' quoting Balen, the source added, 'We advised him that it's better to go with secret programs, which is why he traveled alone.'

After the meeting on Tuesday, Balen went to Kathmandu without informing local workers, arriving in Biratnagar around 11 AM on Wednesday. He flew to Kathmandu only at 3 PM from Biratnagar. Until then, he was with only 3-4 supporters. His own supporters did not even realize he was staying at Hotel PurpleHaze near the Biratnagar airport for 4 hours.

Balen's team, which came to Biratnagar without informing supporters or party workers, was worried that information might leak and cause a crowd. 'I am afraid of crowds here too. The constant crowds have already caused stress,' he said. However, his supporters in Biratnagar never found out until the end.

Balen, who spent all day Monday in various places in Jhapa Constituency No. 5, was presented with issues concerning landless and squatters, education, health, and road infrastructure by local voters. Previously known for just waving silently, he was seen engaging in question-and-answer sessions with voters in his constituency.

'Actually, he wants to go around talking, but the crowds don't allow it,' he said. 'He constantly expresses his wish to visit every voter's doorstep, but the situation doesn't permit it.' He mentioned that he would focus again on the Jhapa constituency after finishing the public rallies.