Balen_Shah

How Did Balen Shah Become The Most Popular Leader?

Who is Balen Shah, and How did he suddenly become a political hero?

Nowadays, Balen Shah is at the peak of discussion in Nepal more than any other leader.

His Facebook status is filled with thousands of comments, shares, and likes. For the last few months, his name has been trending on social media in Nepal and India. Many questions have been raised about him in Indian politics and the film industry, too.

In addition, most youths in the country have started saying he should become Nepal’s Prime Minister.

➡️ In this way, the great man at the top of Nepal’s discussion is Er. Balen Shah. But his original name is Mr. Balendra Shah.⬅️

Balen Shah’s name as a powerful and spirited leader is spreading not only in Nepal but all over the world. It will not be considered a surprise if he gets an international award or honor someday.

In recent times, Balen Shah has also emerged as an unprecedented revolutionary in Nepalese nationalism, making him even more famous.

Politicians worldwide cannot gain normal respect, even after serving for a lifetime. However, a man with an independent existence came into political service without the support of any political party and reached an unusual height very shortly.

What is the secret of Balen Shah reaching such a political height Quickly?

Now, let’s talk about these questions today:

The secret of Nepal’s highly successful recent political hero, Mr. Balen Shah, and his political and personal life story analysis will give you interesting information and a strange feeling. Please keep reading till the end.

Balen Shah
Mayor of Kathmandu Rapper Balen Shah” by Aarogya1234 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Introduction Of Balen Shah

Mr Balen Shah was born on 27 April 1990 in Naradevi, Kathmandu. He is the youngest son of Ayurvedic physician Dr. Ram Narayan Shah and his second wife, Dhruba Devi Shah. Balen’s ancestral home is in Ekadara Rural Municipality in Mahottari district.

Balen’s maternal uncle’s house is in Jamunibas Rural Municipality in Dhanusha district. His grandfather, Munilal Shah, was a landlord. His family lives in Gairigaon, Tinkunne, near Tribhuvan Airport, Kathmandu.

Education, Experience & Marriage:

Balen Shah holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the White House Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in structural engineering from Visvesvaraya University of Technology, Karnataka, India.

After the massive earthquake in Nepal in March 2016, he was active in rescue and relief work and worked as a social worker to prepare technical maps. He says that he has visited 65 districts of the country during his service.

Balen Shah is married to Sabina Kafle. Shah’s wife is a public health worker.

Interest In Music:

Balen has been interested in music and poetry since childhood. He sang his first song, “Street Boy,” in 2012. It is said that he wrote this song when he was in 9th grade.

Balen Shah performed ‘Nap Hop’ on YouTube through the ‘War Rap’ Series and ‘Raw Barge’ in 2013, which earned him musical appreciation and a fan following. In addition to his practice and fame in rap music, he also studied engineering.

Inclination to Politics & Social Service:

While studying engineering, he was also interested in the politics of Nepal. It is said that Balen Shah was initially attracted to a party called “Bibekshil” of Nepal. He also wanted to be elected as the mayor of Kathmandu from this party, but at that time, he turned out to be only a singer.

Later, the “Bivekshil” party asked him to join the party. But Balen Shah thought that after joining the party, he could not do anything as there were rules and orders at the party. Because of this, he will not be able to do any new work according to his purpose. Thinking this, Balen Shah did not even take membership in any party.

After this, Balen Shah started preparing to contest the election alone as an independent candidate.

Music maestro and engineer Balen Shah did not vote in the 2017 local-level elections in Nepal. And he wrote a status on his Facebook page on May 14, 2017. “I didn’t vote today. I’m not even a candidate. I have a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering but am halfway through a master’s degree in architectural engineering. I want to build my country. Likewise, I’ll be a candidate next time, while I will vote for me too. I want to develop my country. I don’t trust anyone else.” he wrote.

Candidate for Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City

After this, he stuck to his earlier announcement. For the local-level elections in May 2022, he contested as an independent candidate for the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the capital of Nepal.

Seeing this young engineer full of enthusiasm as a candidate for the post of mayor of their city, a new enthusiasm was awakened in the people of Kathmandu at that time. They started believing in Balen Shah’s slogan.

Because the people there were worried about the old working style of the mayors of the old party and the deteriorating condition of Kathmandu.

Till yesterday, Balen Shah, known among a limited number of music-loving youth, managed to make a place in the hearts of the city’s people through election campaigning.

Finally, Balen Shah became mayor of Kathmandu:

Ultimately, he received about 40 percent of the total votes cast. Balen won by obtaining 23 thousand more votes than the candidate from the established party, considered strong in Nepal. He was granted the privilege of becoming the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan, the capital of Nepal, on May 26, 2022, while young lady Sunita Dangol was elected Deputy Mayor.

temple, palace, durbar square
Kathmandu-by koshal

Filled with amazing enthusiasm from an early age, Balen Shah also participated in the ‘We for Constitution’ campaign, a pressure program for constitution-making before the first Constituent Assembly.

Two or three years ago, before he was a candidate, he wrote a status on Facebook saying, “I will be the mayor of Kathmandu in the upcoming elections,” his friends and his family made fun of him.

But determined and not afraid of anything, Balen achieved a victory that surprised the whole of Nepal.

Er. Balen Shah fulfilled his resolution

He used to say, “I say whatever I can because I am not in the habit of exaggerating. I know how much potential I have. I haven’t got a chance to use my potential. Furthermore, I love this country.” I am excited to do something and am looking for a place. That’s why I stood for election. If I get a chance this time, I will show doing something new.” This is what he used to say while seeking votes from the public.

When Balen returned to Nepal after completing his Master’s in Structural Engineering from India, he accelerated his technical professional work.

At that time i.e., in March 2016, there was a severe earthquake in Nepal, and many people lost their lives. Er. Balen, who was looking for an opportunity to do special service to the country, also got a good opportunity to serve in the reconstruction work through an organization, which gave him a good opportunity to gain practical experience in his field.

While involved in earthquake reconstruction, Er. Balen Shah had the opportunity to work with a French engineer. The French engineer asked him “his country is culturally rich, but why is this historic city being treated like a concrete jungle?” This bitter truth had a deep impact on Balen. And then he was thinking about how to develop a city full of cultural heritage like Kathmandu and how to develop Kathmandu as a modern city while preserving cultural wealth.

In the end, not only did he have to think, but now he has taken the key to Kathmandu into his own hands, allowing him to fulfill that dream.

What is Balen Shah doing these days?

Balen Shah made some miraculous developments in the first year after winning the election. In the first year, he gave the impression that he was a capable mayor by doing many things that the mayors of the old parties could not do in the past.

In addition, Balen Shah has been successful in showing a glimpse of new revolutionary development by making Kathmandu city clean, pollution-free, and green by doing works like disorganized settlements, parking, encroachment, eviction, road, bridge, and drainage.

And the polluted and chaotic Kathmandu has started to look calm and green.

Of course, some people criticize him for his stubborn work style. Because to do any new work, he has to use force in some places.

However, he modeled revolutionary modern development in cities by accomplishing what no leader in the past could do, so some of the criticism of his work has faded with time.

Indeed, within a year, Kathmandu got a facelift

The main issues in Kathmandu were related to drinking water, waste management, the development of wider roads, and pollution control. Balen recognized that addressing these problems would endear him to the public, so he took action. As a result of his efforts, some unexpected progress was made, including improvements to ambulance health services, leading even those who opposed Balen to support him.

In the beginning, people who used to oppose Balen, nowadays, they have also started supporting him after seeing his work. Because there was such a development overnight that people had not even thought about it. Some human services, including ambulance health service, have also been implemented through new programs by Mr. Balen.

Not only this, Balen Shah has recently managed to create a stir by putting a map of Nepal from the past historical period called “Greater Nepal” on the wall of his office. Along with that work, he is also being analyzed as a nationalist leader. Greater Nepal is an old and very complex issue of this country, which is discussed in Nepal occasionally.

Kathmandu, Balen Shah
Ornate multi-headed, multi-armed Chenrayzee statue, holding a mala, flower, vase of nectar, bow and arrow, and bell with dharma wheel, stupa construction, Kopan Monastery and Nunnery, Kapan Village, Kathmandu, Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal” by Wonderlane is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Main 3 reasons why Balen Shah became famous so fast.

Many political people spend their whole lives in service work to establish themselves as popular leaders, but the public does not consider them worthy of respect. But by showing one year’s work, Balen won the hearts of the people who today want to see Balen on the chair of the head of the country.

 Let’s know what the reason or secret brought Balen to this peak.

Reason #1

The archaic and corrupt style of Nepal’s old party leaders

Nepal was embroiled in a battle of the democratic movement and the Maoist war for many years. Due to this, Nepal had to spend many years in political instability, preventing the country from progressing in development. However, after the implementation of the new democratic constitution in 2016, the leaders of the old parties should have brought a radical change in the thinking of the country’s development. And it was necessary to take the country forward on revolutionary development.

However, the leaders of that old party do not want to hand over the reins of power to the new young generation, and they cannot develop the country in a modern way. Due to this, the people were disappointed.

In such a situation, people were naturally fascinated by the revolutionary working style and fearless nature of a leader like Balen Shah.

People started thinking that only a leader like Balen could save the country from being ruined by the power struggle of the old party and the extreme quagmire of corruption.

nepal, tracking, snow mountain
Photo by moonykim on Pixabay

Reason #2

High aspirations of the Nepali people for development and change

Most of Nepal’s young population is compelled to seek employment overseas. They have longed for progress in their homeland, hoping to build a future with their families. However, poverty and joblessness persist in Nepal, and it may take several more years to address these issues if the nation continues on its current course.

Thus, many Nepalis, particularly the youth, yearn for a leader like Balen Shah, who can fulfill their needs and aspirations. Balen’s ability to connect with the youth both in Nepal and abroad has earned him their admiration and support.

This was why Balen won the hearts of most youth in the country and abroad.

Balen Shah
Balen Shah2” by Janak Bhatta is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Reason #3

Balen Shah’s revolutionary style and his high technical ability

Nepal is considered to be the second-richest country in the world in terms of water resources. Even if the electricity here is sold, Nepal can be made a prosperous nation. Apart from this, Nepal is the second most beautiful mountainous country after Switzerland, which can attract tourists worldwide. Nepal also has a huge store of herbs, agriculture, and mineral resources.

However, the Nepalese people were unhappy that a selfless leader should be born who would use all these resources to bring a wave of modern development to the country.

At the same time, a leader with a revolutionary style like Balen Shah was born in the capital and mastered engineering. It was also natural for new hopes and expectations to be born in the transformative people of Nepal.

Not only this, Balen Shah is a leader who has a fearless and intelligent style. He strongly opposes corruption. He keeps moving forward in his development goal without fear of anyone. In addition, his educational qualifications and technical ability also give him more energy every moment.

As a result, he is establishing himself overnight as a hero of Nepali development and a world-renowned public representative.

But Balen’s fearless working style often rises to his opponents as well.  On the other hand, those who do not like his work style also oppose him. One of his Facebook statuses sometimes becomes the subject of criticism, and sometimes, it gets praise from the whole country.

Balen Shah is one of the heads of 753 local bodies in the country. Together, they won the election, and all are doing well. But out of these, people liked Balen’s style very much.

Challenge to alleged Madheshi Discriminatory beliefs

At one time, it was thought in Nepal that the original power of Nepal had neglected the Madhesi or Terai region of Nepal or that the Madhesi people did not have access to the mainstream of Nepal’s state power.

Not only this, But some people also believe that the Madhesi people (Inhabitants of Terai) are looked down upon differently by the Pahadi (Inhabitants of Hill) community. This is the reason why the Madhesi people never rose above the poverty line because the state did not give them any special access programs or rights.

Due to this feeling, the Madhes movement also took place then. With the end of the Maoist regime, full democracy was established in Nepal. After that, a new constitution was issued. Not only this, but after the country’s reorganization, a separate Madhes province was also created in the Terai belt of Nepal.

Madhesh Proviance Nepal
Madhesh in Nepal” by Jippijip is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The sense of mentioning this context here is that Mr. Balen Shah is a Madhesi Nepali and has established himself as the most popular Nepali leader today.

However, it is true history in Nepal that dozens of Parliamentary members, ministers, and presidents have also been elected from the Madhesi community before this. Balen Shah could establish a challenging image despite being a Madhesi. Because he doesn’t show the speech, he shows magical development.

Balen Shah also confirmed that neither the Madhesis nor the Nepali people are backward in Nepal. There was just a gap in the parties’ leadership’s thinking. Who wants to work selflessly for Nepal? No one can stop him/her.

Balen Shah is becoming a national hero at the center of Nepali political power.

Nowadays, Mayor Mr. Balen has threatened Nepalese high profile that “I don’t pick up the garbage of the ministry from your office yard. All leaders should run away from there. Worthless leaders don’t have the right to sit on these responsible chairs” like this.

But even after his speech, neither any minister nor any hill community felt humiliated by such speech expressed by a Madhesi, Mr. Balen Shah, for it is a universal law that one who can do is entitled to tell others.

In the past, politicians in Nepal deceived the public, which is why the country became poor despite its vast natural resources. During elections, politicians used to win by provoking innocent people. After winning, the leaders would disappear for five years and start their businesses to earn money.

If they had shown revolutionary zeal like Balen Shah and worked selflessly for the country’s and people’s welfare, Nepal would have already become a much more developed country.

Balen Shah has reached that height: people have realized that real leaders were not born in Nepal for many years.

In conclusion, we would like to end this article with the wish that development-loving and popular leaders like Balen Shah continue to be born in Nepal and worldwide. And people can experience happiness, peace, and development.

All the best to Mr. Balen Shah for continued progress and success.

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