Kathmandu, March 4 -- From rap battles to city hall and now the national arena, Balen Shah's meteoric rise is reshaping Nepal's political landscape and challenging the dominance of traditional party heavyweights.

In 2022, Balen Shah delivered one of the biggest political upsets in Nepal's recent history.

Running as an independent candidate, the structural engineer-turned-rapper defeated nominees from the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) to become Mayor of Kathmandu.

Securing 61,767 votes, he outpaced seasoned party leaders and signalled a generational shift in voter sentiment across Nepal.

At the time, Shah's victory was widely seen as a rebellion against traditional politics. Armed with a ci...