Mayor Balen’s announcement: I will make Kathmandu a model city of the world Great victory – huge victory procession: Balen Shah

Kathmandu people rap Congress and UML on the knuckles while electing a rapper who also happens to be a structural engineer as their new mayor.

Balendra Shah, the next mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the country’s largest city and the federal capital, goes by the name ‘Balen.’ Shah, 32, also known as ‘Balen,’ pulled off the biggest upset of the local election by defeating old guards like the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML to become Kathmandu mayor as an independent candidate.

As of Wednesday, his margin was already more than the number of votes yet to be tabulated, thus an announcement was only a formality.

Few people had heard of him before he announced his candidacy for mayor of Kathmandu—he was the first to do so. Some contenders, such as CPN-Keshav UML’s Sthapit, even poked fun at him. Balen’s electoral emblem is “lauro,” a walking stick.

As the campaigns began, it revealed that he was a popular figure among the youth—millennials and Gen Y—for his music. He was already a household name among hip hop fans as a rapper. He’s also a structural engineer by trade. Balen, according to those who know him well, has always felt a sense of social obligation, which inspired him to run for office. Balen reportedly planned to run for mayor again in 2017, according to his cousin Prashant Shah.

“He was displeased with the way the metropolitan metropolis was governed from a young age. Prashant told the Post, “He would often remark Kathmandu is lovely and can be built as a liveable city.” “The elected officials’ failure to perform motivated him to run for office.”
Balen’s family hails from the Mahottari district’s Ekdara Rural Municipality. On April 27, 1990, he was born in Naradevi, Kathmandu. Dr Ram Narayan Shah, an Ayurvedic doctor, was assigned to Naradevi Ayurvedic Hospital during the time. The family is presently residing in Gairigaun, Tinkune, which is close to the airport.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ram Narayan told the Post, “We are really thrilled.” “He has been writing poems since he was a toddler. His passion, hard work, commitment, and humility have all contributed to his success.” He traveled to Bangalore to pursue his master’s in structural engineering after obtaining his bachelor’s in civil engineering in Nepal.

Balen would constantly include social themes into his songs, according to Bhupa Dev Shah, a fundamental member of his team, since he didn’t want to be a passive spectator of what was going on. “Someone has to step up and clean up the mess,” Bhupa remarked. “Balen took a gamble with his arm. People applauded him and his concept.”