Opinion
One need not travel too far back in the past to explain the rise of Balendra Shah in Nepal's politics. It just takes a deeper look into the local elections of 2017 and 2022.
Take for example, two mayoral candidates of the two major parties – Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (UML). While Congress – Nepal's oldest democratic outfit – fielded Sirjana Singh, the UML chose one of Kathmandu's former mayors, Keshav Sthapit.
Due respect to their political stature, to an overwhelming number of young and first or second time voters, Singh and Sthapit 'sprang out of nowhere'. She was little known outside of her party and her composure rang hardly any bell in the minds of Kathmandu's swing voters. A colourful personality, Sthapit lived in the yore when he was the mayor.
Five years ago Nepal held the first local elections in nearly two decades in 2017 under a new constitution issued in 2015. The Maoist insurgency that began in 1996 had brought all political activities to a grinding halt. The armed insurgency itself ended in 2006, but a protracted transition into a post-conflict situation with 'obscure, grand political ideas' was frustratingly slow, leading to the local elections in 2017.
Back then as well the UML chose the rather little-known Bidhya Sundar Shakya. An out-and-out 'Yes Man' of NCP Chairman and former prime minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, according to UML insiders. He won; and Kathmandu lost.
Over to Nepal's grand old party.
The Congress pitted Raju Raj Joshi as its mayoral candidate. 'Raju Dai' – as many Congress youth activists who made up the front lines of pro-democracy protests during the 1990 movement called him – was a promising young Congress leader of the time. In the decades that followed, however,he took a back seat and went about his business. When in 2017 'Raju Dai' sprang up out of nowhere, many Congress workers and some ticket hopefuls were taken aback.
The result: Joshi lost.
2017 Rival candidates
By the time the 2017 elections were taking place two new outfits had made a forceful entry into Kathmandu's political landscape. The Bibeksheel Party and Sajha Party were led by professionals who fancied social welfare and good governance as their political ideology. They possessed shared-visions and staged quite identical political manifestos.
In the run-up to the local elections, they tried to forge consensus on their mayoral and deputy mayoral candidates but bitterly failed. Bibeksheel launched its young vibrant social activist-turned mayor candidate, Ranju Darshana. Sajha brought forth a respected retired bureaucrat, Kishore Thapa. Both secured a good number of votes but lost the elections.
Cut to 2022. During the May local elections, the UML brought to fore one of Kathmandu's maverick politicians and former mayor Keshav Sthapit. Sthapit lost. Congress itself pitted Sirjana Singh, a Nepal Student Union activist of her student times three decades ago.
Like Raju Raj Joshi in 2017, Sirjana appeared out of nowhere as a mayoral candidate. Since being married into Kathmandu's most prestigious political family three decades ago, Sirjana was practically out of the political scene and more into social works.
The independents
On the sidelines were two independents: Rapper-civil engineer Balen Shah and Kathmandu's home-grown cultural activist Suman Sayami. Sayami lost the election but did secure 13,000 plus votes, a feat of sorts in its own right. The vote-count inspired him and he has declared himself as an independent candidate for the parliamentary elections due on November 20 from his home constituency of Kathmandu-8.
A familiar rapper seen in several 'rap battle' videos, Balen Shah donned a coat, a black round-neck and black leather shoes. The dark shades that he flashed during his public appearances drew him public attention. Many young and first time voters at home; migrant workers in the Gulf and Nepalis in other parts of the world – away from families and friends – fell for his 'mystical' looks and persuaded their elders back home to vote for him.
Balen exuded confidence and carried himself in such a way that he looked akin to the Bollywood blockbuster Nayak's Anil Kapoor, a man with a magic wand to fix things in 24 hours.
Balen-isation of politics
No wonder Balen picked 'Stick' – a magic wand of sorts – as his election symbol. And, that did have an impact during the campaign. Within months after being elected Kathmandu's 4th mayor post-1990, he worked overnight to make sure that the capital valley’s garbage made its way to Banchare Dada.
He succeeded. He then turned his sights to fix Kathmandu's other problems. Yes, he "overstepped" the Kathmandu Metropolitan City's weak laws that only protected the politically-connected wrongdoers. But he held them to account, bulldozing illegally built structures that occupied parking lots of high- rise commercial buildings.
A busy fun park that had not paid any tax for seven years suddenly coughed up a part of tax money. An imposing midtown LED board that flashed colourful adverts and distracted public attention suddenly went off air. So much so, the Department of Passport that illegally occupied its own parking lot cleared its office set-up and created parking space. All to the delight of the public, the commuters from across the Kathmandu valley. Very few of them actually voted for him.
The ripples appear to be going far and wide in no time. Only recently did the Pokhara Metropolis issue a 35-day notice, similar to the one Balen's Kathmandu Metropolis did two months ago. Itahari municipality and Udayapur municipality have followed suit.
Balen's success in Kathmandu will have more mayors jumping the bandwagon in the days to come. For sure, this will most likely change the course of Nepal's politics, particularly the November 20 twin elections - the countdown for which has already begun.
