From Mic to Mayor: How a Nepali Rapper is Transforming Politics and Communication via social media

The rapper and structural engineer defeated Congress and UML candidates to win the largest metropolitan area
Social media plays a vital role in transforming the dimensions of politics from traditional political practices to the rise of modern independent candidates. Nowadays, people do not use traditional media, like newspapers, to get political information. Most of them get news from social media, and only a few of them watch television news. A registered and trusted news platform, Routine Of Nepal Banda played a significant role in transforming various pieces of information for the Nepali public. This is how a social media platform helped gain public attention and trust to convey their news and information. The built trust on this kind of social media platform creates a strong presence of the rapper's campaigning in viewers' minds.
This is how a social media platform helped gain public attention and trust to convey their news and information. The built trust on this social media platform creates a strong presence of the rapper's campaigning in viewers' minds. Background Balen Shah began his career on Kathmandu's roofs as a musician competing in rap competitions or recording music videos before aiming for the city's highest position. Most of his songs indicate social problems like corruption and injustice and about growing youth. He has used powerful words and lyrics to provoke corrupted politicians in one of his songs, Balidan, which means sacrifice and gained seven million views on YouTube.
Balen Shah has been thinking about his intentions to run for a candidate since 2020, and on December 17, 2021, he declared that he would be standing for the mayoral race as an independent candidate through his Facebook page. He ran on his reputation as a rapper while highlighting his education and experience as a structural engineer, positioning himself as an educated person rather than a professional politician. In his commitment letter, he said that he would focus on technical education by improving the infrastructure, quality, and environment of community schools in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He announced that CCTV would be put in all government offices, morning shifts would be implemented, and practical desks would be constructed. Many modern social media, especially Routine of Nepal Banda (a renowned social media page), have triggered this point and broadcasted their content, making it an election weapon to path the victory of Balen.
Shah was elected on May 26, 2022, with 38.6% of the votes cast. He beat Nepali Congress candidate Sirjana Shrestha and former mayor and CPN (UML) candidate Keshav Sthapit by more than 23,000 votes. He officially became mayor on May 30, 2022, by giving a speech to the other municipal assembly members elected in the elections.
Conclusion Balen's journey from mic to mayor was significantly impacted and supported by modern mass media, mainly Routine Of Nepal Banda, to convey his election manifest to the screen of the masses and continuously feed original and realistic content to help Balen reach his milestone. 

References Ojha, A. (Ed.). (n.d.). Balendra Shah is the new mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The Kathmandu Post. https://kathmandupost.com/kathmandu/2022/05/26/balendra-shah-is-the-new-mayor-of-kathmandu-metropolitan-city Schmall, E., & Sharma, B. (2023, May 12). From Rap Star to engineer to young mayor demolishing swaths of Kathmandu. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/12/world/asia/nepal-kathmandu-mayor-balen.html 

  Picture credit Home: Routine of nepal banda. Home | Routine of Nepal Banda. (n.d.). https://www.ronbpost.com/

Comments