Celebrities in Nepali Elections: Some Secure Parliament Seats, Others Fall Short

Kathmandu. With the fervor of the elections across the country, the activity in the art sector this time was quite commendable. Although many artists entered the electoral arena advocating for good governance and nation-building, only a few achieved success. The parliamentary journey for some remained limited to mere discussion this time.

Before the elections on Falgun 21, eight celebrity representatives were seen in the line to become members of the House of Representatives through direct and proportional representation from new and old political parties. However, after the direct election results and subsequent proportional representation recommendations, only 5 celebrities appear to have successfully entered the House of Representatives as members of parliament. Nevertheless, the final decision regarding proportional representation MPs is yet to be made.

The celebrities from the art sector who succeeded in entering parliament through direct elections this time are rapper Balen Shah and actress Ashika Tamang. Similarly, Rima Bishwakarma, singer Ramesh Prasai, and Miss Nepal Anushka Shrestha are among those to be finally recommended from the proportional list. The Election Commission will finalize their names after due consideration.

Rapper Balen Shah, popular among the younger generation, has elevated his political stature to the parliament through this election. Former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Shah succeeded in becoming a member of parliament by winning the direct election from Jhapa-5. He, who won the Mayor position of Kathmandu Metropolitan City as an independent, was a candidate from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). He managed to secure a victory by defeating former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli by a large margin of votes, as he was also the candidate put forward by RSP for the position of Prime Minister. He is now set to become the Prime Minister as well.

Actress Ashika Tamang, who has recently become known as a social activist, succeeded in becoming a member of parliament from Dhading-1. As the direct candidate for RSP in that constituency, she won by defeating UML's Bhumi Tripathi and the Communist Party of Nepal's Rajendra Pandey by a large margin of votes. Tamang acted in a film titled 'Sushree' with actor Aryan Sigdel. The film, released in the year 2072 BS, was made under Ashika Films Pvt. Ltd.'s banner.

Furthermore, actress Rima Bishwakarma has been successfully recommended as an MP through the proportional quota of RSP. Bishwakarma, who is also a program presenter, has been recommended by RSP under the women's Dalit quota. She initially started her political journey with the Ujyalo Nepal Party under the patronage of Kulman Ghising. Although the unity between Ujyalo and RSP was broken, she remained with RSP and succeeded in becoming an MP as a candidate from the Dalit women cluster. For this reason, some people criticize her as opportunistic.

Folk singer Ramesh Prasai is also in line to enter the parliament building from RSP. Prasai, famous for his sharp oratory skills and singing, has been recommended by RSP under the Khas-Arya quota. Among the 17 MPs recommended from this quota, he is the only male representative. Prasai, considered an expert in live folk-duet singing, has popular folk-duet songs, and recently his song titled 'Ringkebungko Rango' is in the spotlight. Prasai has also been active in social service.

Likewise, former Miss Nepal Anushka Shrestha has been successfully recommended from the proportional quota of RSP. She has been recommended as an MP from RSP's indigenous women cluster. After becoming Miss Nepal, she also participated in 'Miss World 2019' representing Nepal, where she managed to bring home the titles 'Miss World Beauty with a Purpose' and 'Multimedia' by placing within the top 12. Shrestha is also a businesswoman. She is the operator of the 'Makuse' luxury sweet brand.

• Those Who Generated Much Buzz But Failed to Become MPs

Some celebrity artists who became candidates in this election failed to become members of parliament. Some failed to gather votes in the direct elections, while others, despite being on the proportional list, could not make it to the final recommendation. As a result, influential artists failed to enter parliament.

Singer Komal Oli, who has been politically active for a long time, failed to enter parliament this time. UML leader Oli was on the party's proportional candidate list. Due to the decrease in votes, not only direct but also proportional votes for UML compared to the past, she failed to become an MP. She was defeated in the direct election from Dang-3 in the last election and is also a former member of the National Assembly.

Similarly, actress Nisha Adhikari also failed to enter parliament. Adhikari was a direct candidate from the Gatisheel Loktantrik Party in Kathmandu-5. Defeated in the election by securing only 91 votes, her plan to dedicate the next 10 years to the country remained unfulfilled. She returned to films the day after the election defeat.

Popular singer Prakash Saput also could not secure a journey to parliament. Although he was proportional from RSP, he failed to become an MP despite RSP receiving many votes in both direct and proportional categories. He could not be accommodated because RSP needed to nominate many female MPs proportionally. Popular singer, musician, and actor Saput's songs including 'Bolmaya', 'Galbandi', 'Sakambari', 'Mero Pani Hoina Ra Yo Desh', 'Damai Maharaj', 'Bujhina Maile' are popular. He acted in about half a dozen films and produced and directed the film 'Basanta'. After not becoming an MP, he has returned to musical programs.

• Artist MPs Only From 'RSP'

An interesting aspect of this election is that all the celebrities who are set to become MPs belong to the same party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). The celebrities set to become MPs from RSP are rapper Balen Shah, actress Ashika Tamang, actress Rima Bishwakarma, singer Ramesh Prasai, and Miss Nepal Anushka Shrestha.

In this election, artists were included as candidates from CPN-UML, RSP, and Gatisheel Loktantrik Party. However, only those from RSP succeeded in becoming MPs.

• Artist Becoming Prime Minister

The election on Falgun 21 added a new chapter to Nepal's history, one that few had imagined until a short time ago. Artists who entered the electoral arena with a strong desire for good governance, change, and nation-building are not only entering parliament this time but are also set to occupy the executive head's chair of the country.

Popular rapper Balen Shah, who won the direct election and became an MP from RSP, is set to become the Prime Minister. Shah is set to become the Prime Minister from RSP, which became the largest party in the country with 182 seats in the election.