Ex-rapper enters PM race as youth alliance shakes Nepal politics

Nepal’s political landscape is set for a major shake-up after rapper-turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah widely known as Balen, agreed to run for prime minister under a new alliance ahead of the March 5 parliamentary elections, party officials and analysts said on Monday.

Nepal is grappling with severe economic fallout three months after the youth-led protests in early September that toppled the government and triggered some of the worst unrest the country has seen in years. 

Nepal’s interim government has announced a wide-ranging relief and austerity package to counter the devastating economic and social fallout from the massive youth-led “Gen Z” protests that shook the country earlier this month, according to reports in the Kathmandu Post.

Nepal’s interim government has launched a formal investigation into the violent anti-corruption protests that rocked the country earlier this month, killing at least 74 people and forcing Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign.

Nepal’s interim prime minister, Sushila Karki, has promised that her time in office will be short and focused. Sworn in on Friday, the former chief justice said she would hold the post for no more than six months and step aside once a new government is elected on March 5, 2026.

Nepal’s worst political unrest in decades has collided with the country’s peak tourist season, leaving its tourism-dependent economy reeling. 

A youth-driven protest movement that toppled Nepal’s government is now at the center of the country’s political future, with its organizers moving swiftly to shape a new interim administration.

Nepal’s political crisis deepened this weekend as eight major parties jointly demanded the immediate reinstatement of parliament, which was dissolved a day earlier by President Ram Chandra Poudel. The move, they argued, was unconstitutional and risked undermining the country’s fragile democratic order.

Nepal’s fragile political crisis took another dramatic turn on Thursday when army troops opened fire to prevent a mass jailbreak, injuring more than a dozen inmates. 

The Nepali Army has announced a strict nationwide curfew, saying it will go into effect from 5 p.m. Wednesday and remain in place until 6 a.m. Thursday. Officials say the move comes after days of violent unrest and growing threats to public safety.

Nepal has been thrown into fresh political chaos after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on Monday, just a day after some of the deadliest protests the country has seen in decades.

Nepal has finally lifted its controversial social media ban, but not before the streets turned violent and left at least 19 people dead. 

At least 14 people have died after police clashed with thousands of protesters in Kathmandu. The demonstrations erupted on Monday after the government blocked access to major social media platforms.

Heavy rainfall has caused widespread flooding and landslides across Nepal, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least 192 people. Rescue operations are ongoing, according to local police.

Nepal has shut schools for three days after landslides and floods triggered by two days of heavy rain across the Himalayan nation killed 101, with 67 missing, officials said on Sunday.

Nepal maintains friendly relations with both India and China in a `balanced` manner, Nepal Premier KP Sharma Oli said on Monday, underlining that occasional problems between neighbours are `natural`` and can be resolved through `open dialogue`.