Nepal is seeing a remarkable shift in its political landscape, with Gen Z — young protesters aged 13 to 28 — playing a key role in the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Following two days of unrest and violent demonstrations, Oli have fled the country. The protests have tragically left at least 19 people dead and around 300 injured. Who will be the next PM of Nepal? Balendra Shah’s name is doing the rounds as the next representative of Gen Z for the PM Chair.
Who Is Balendra Shah?
Balen Shah, also known as Balen, is the 15th Mayor of Kathmandu. He is a rapper with a civil engineering professional degree. He had created history by winning the election as an independent candidate in 2022. Many people believe that Balendra Shah brought important reforms to Kathmandu during his tenure. He cleaned roads and made sidewalks safer for pedestrians, improved monitoring of government schools, and enforced strict control on private schools that avoided paying taxes. His biggest strengths are his clean image and zero-tolerance policy against corruption.
In 2023, Time Magazine included him in its list of Top 100 Emerging Leaders, and global media, including the New York Times, have praised him as well. He is especially popular among young people, making him a symbol of new hope in Nepal’s politics. Recently, he expressed support for the Gen Z-led demonstrations, writing on Facebook that while he could not join due to the age limit of under 28, he fully sympathised with the protesters and urged political parties and leaders not to misuse the movement.
Balendra Shah’s Views On Gen Z
According to the Kathmandu Post, alendra Shah has expressed his support to Monday’s Gen-Z-led rally against corruption and the government’s recent decision to restrict social media.
In a Facebook post, Shah said that although he cannot participate due to the age limit set by organisers—who have defined Gen-Z as under 28—he considers it important to listen to their voices.
“The rally is clearly a spontaneous movement of Gen-G, for whom even I may seem old,” Shah wrote. “I want to understand their aspirations, objectives and thinking. Political parties, leaders, activists, lawmakers and campaigners should not be oversmart to use this rally for their own interests.” Shah stressed that he will not be attending, however, he said that his“full support” will be with the demonstrators.
