Balen Shah, former rapper and mayor, vying for PM, launches campaign in Kathmandu as election draws close

Kathmandu [Nepal], February 28 (ANI): Former rapper and mayor Balendra Shah (Balen), vying for PM, has launched a Kathmandu-centric campaign as the election draws close, with polling set for Thursday.

Balen, standing in the fray from the Jhapa in the March 5 election, against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, launched the campaign in Kathmandu with a road show.
Hundreds of supporters and voters stood on the side of the road as the projected Prime Minister, alongside the party president Rabi Lamichhane, greeted voters from the sun-roof of the vehicle.

The silence period for the election of the House of Representatives, dissolved after September's Gen-Z protest, is set to start from Monday past midnight.
"The campaign has drawn an enormous crowd as Balen (Balendra) Shah and Rabi Lamichhane came for the campaign. It brought more people than any other political gathering. This has further increased the election fever," Sitaram Tiwari, a resident of Sankhu, Kathmandu, told ANI.
Balen had been campaigning across the nation for his party Rastriya Swatantra Party.
The rapper turned mayor on January 18 had resigned from his post to contest the March 5 election. The former rapper who won the local election of 2022 from the Nepali capital also assumed the charge of senior leader of the Rastriya Swantra Party (RSP) on the same day.
"He (Balen) had been living up to his promises than other parties and those in power. The construction of roads, water, and other infrastructures as well as I am expecting him to create more job opportunities and bring a wave of change; he is projected as the Prime Minister by all age group," Ambika BK, a resident of Kathmandu, told ANI.
On December 28, Balen had struck a deal with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) where it was agreed that he would be the next Prime Ministerial candidate from the party.
As per the 7-point agreement, RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane will continue as the party's central chairman, while Shah will be presented as the party's parliamentary leader after the elections and its prime ministerial candidate.
The RSP had emerged as the fourth largest political force, winning 21 seats in the dissolved House of Representatives within a year of its establishment.
Balen has promised to institutionalise the agenda raised by the September Gen-Z movement. The electoral battle in Jhapa-5 is shaping up to be an intriguing contest this time. (ANI)