Rapper Balen Shah Becomes Nepal's Youngest Elected Prime Minister at 36

Kathmandu. Rapper Balendra (Balen) Shah has become the youngest popularly elected Prime Minister of Nepal. He succeeded in reaching the executive post of the country at the age of 36.

Born on Baisakh 14, 2047 BS in Naradevi, Kathmandu, he was elected from Jhapa-5 in the recently concluded House of Representatives election. He achieved the distinction of becoming Prime Minister by defeating former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli by a wide margin of 49,614 votes.

Balen was elected securing 68,348 votes, while his closest competitor Oli received only 18,734 votes.

Balen was previously the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He resigned from the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Magh 4 and joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). RSP campaigned for the election by fielding him as the future Prime Minister.

Balen took the oath of office as Prime Minister at the auspicious time of 12:34 according to the Sanatana Vedic and Buddhist traditional customs on the occasion of Ram Navami. During the oath-taking ceremony, 108 young Brahmins recited Swasti Shanti, 16 Buddhist monks recited Ashtamangala Path, and seven conches were blown (Shankhanad).

At a time when the ruling power has been led by people of Brahmin and Chhetri origins for years, Balen has also created history by becoming the first Prime Minister of Madhesi origin.

Bhimsen Thapa is considered the first Prime Minister of Nepal. Thapa ruled for 31 years from 1863 BS to 1894 BS. He became Mukhtiyar at the age of 32. In the 219-year history from Thapa to Balen, Jung Bahadur Rana became the youngest Prime Minister at 31 years old. However, there was no provision for a popularly elected Prime Minister at that time. Among the 40 Prime Ministers during this period, only Marichman Shrestha was from a tribal community.

During the Panchayat era, Tulsi Giri became Prime Minister at the age of 33 under the favor of King Mahendra. The oldest popularly elected Prime Ministers are former CPN-UML Chairman Manmohan Adhikari and former Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala. Adhikari was 74 years old when he became Prime Minister in 2051 BS. Koirala, who became Prime Minister in 2070 BS, was also 74 years old. Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who became the first Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2065 BS, was 54 years old at that time.

In the context of almost the same individuals from traditional political parties becoming Prime Minister for 35 years following the political change of 2046 BS, this time the country has received a new and young Prime Minister for the first time. With Balen becoming Prime Minister, the country has received a Prime Minister under the age of 40 after 52 years.

Balen, the youngest son of his father Dr. Ramnarayan Shah and mother Dhruvadevi Shah, resides in Garigaun, Sinamangal, Kathmandu. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from White House Institute of Technology and a Master's degree in Structural Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in Karnataka, India.

After the devastating earthquake of 2072 BS, he actively participated in rescue and relief work, mapping areas as a social worker. Balen married Sabina Kafle eight years ago. Sabina is a public health professional by profession.

Balen's interest was in music and poetry since childhood. He sang his first song 'Sadak Balak' in 2069 BS while studying in Grade 9. Along with rap and engineering, he also took an interest in Nepali politics.

In the 2074 local level elections, he was preparing to contest as a candidate from Bibeksheel Nepali. However, citing insufficient preparation, he announced on social media that he would not vote for anyone in the election.

Balen announced his candidacy for the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City in the local level elections held in Baisakh 2079. At that time, he claimed he would win the election by securing 90,835 votes. Many dismissed Shah's claim as empty talk. Balen's popularity soared after defeating influential candidates like CPN-UML's Keshav Sthapit and Nepali Congress's Sirjana Singh. Balen was elected securing 61,767 votes, while his closest competitor, CPN-UML candidate Sthapit, received 38,341 votes. Singh from the Nepali Congress, who finished third, received 38,117 votes.