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Balendra Shah became Prime Minister of Nepal on 27 March following the landslide victory of his party the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in the Nepal 2026 election. A rapper turned politician, 35-year-old Shah first gained national prominence when won the Kathmandu mayoral election in 2022. The strong electoral performance of the RSP reflects growing public frustration with traditional political parties and recurring coalition instability and Shah's rise to prime minister represents generational shift in Nepal’s politics.
Shah transformed the energy of the Gen Z protests of September 2025 into a broader political campaign. The protests erupted after the government of then-Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli imposed restrictions on social media platforms. Demonstrations spread across Kathmandu and other cities as youth protested against censorship, corruption, unemployment, and poor governance. At least 77 protesters were killed by police fire.
Amid escalating public anger and mounting political pressure, Prime Minister Oli resigned on 9 September 2025, leading to the collapse of his coalition government. Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal, Sushila Karki, was appointed Interim Prime Minister by President Ram Chandra Poudel to oversee the transition until the March 2026 elections.
Nepal's Youth Unemployment Crisis
Until Shah’s appearance on the political stage, Nepal’s Gen Z witnessed largely nonperforming governments, while political and social elites linked to the monarchy, bureaucracy, military, and mainstream parties continued to profit from personal networks and unequal access to state institutions.
Many Gen Z were born during or immediately after the decade-long Maoist civil war (1996–2006) and came of age after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2006. While the post-war period promised a “hope for justice,” political instability soon became a defining feature of everyday life. Since 2015, Nepal has witnessed a carousel of eight successive governments. These leaders, K.P. Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), and Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party have also dominated their respective party structures. Unsurprisingly, mounting frustration among the people came in tandem with a sense that elites were restricting access to the system of governance to their benefit.
According to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International, Nepal ranks 107 out of 180 countries, reflecting persistent challenges in the realms of governance and accountability. The country’s economy remains heavily reliant on remittances from Nepali migrant workers employed abroad, which in 2024 accounted for nearly one-third of its GDP. The World Bank estimates that around 82 per cent of Nepal’s workforce is in the informal sector, which includes jobs and businesses that operate without formal regulation or legal protection. This deep dependence on remittance-driven income has not translated into sufficient quality employment opportunities within the country, perpetuating a cycle of economic insecurity and large-scale labour migration abroad.
Nepal’s economic challenges are deeply shaped by its demographic realities. Every year, nearly half a million young people enter the labour market, intensifying the urgent need for employment generation and sustainable economic opportunities. The country’s youth population, officially defined as individuals between the ages of 16 and 40 years, constitutes nearly 43 per cent of the total population, accounting for more than 12 million people out of Nepal’s 30 million citizens. This growing youth population represents both a demographic dividend and a significant policy challenge for the state.
For many Gen Z activists in Nepal, the failure of the Left represented a deep political disillusionment. Communist parties that once promised revolutionary transformation gradually became associated with corruption, elite bargaining, and parliamentary opportunism, while failing to address caste, ethnic exclusion, unemployment, and structural inequality. The gap between radical promises and actual governance led many young people to view traditional left politics as part of the same political establishment they sought to challenge.
However, for many young Nepalis uncertainty has become a permanent condition rather than a temporary phase of life. Even educated youth face limited employment opportunities, low wages, and fierce competition for stable and secure jobs. As a result, many leave the country in search of employment or higher education abroad, particularly in the Gulf countries, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia, Europe and Canada. Migration has become so normalized within Nepalese society that leaving the country is no longer viewed as a personal choice but as an economic and social necessity.
The 2025 Nepal Political Crisis and Gen Z Protests
Nepal’s Gen Z protests united youth from both privileged and marginalized communities, such as, Indigenous, Dalit, Muslim, Madheshi, and other groups.
Nepal had long history of people’s movements, among them the 1990 Jana Andolan, that forced King Birendra to accept constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy. The Maoist “people’s war” (1996–2006) challenged monarchy, feudalism, caste oppression, and elite dominance, leading to the abolition of the monarchy and Nepal’s transformation into a republic in 2008. However, once former revolutionaries entered the ruling class, self-interest trumped the grievances of the masses.
During my travels across Nepal in 2024 and early 2025, I encountered this growing sense of disappointment in conversations with students, workers, taxi drivers, and small business owners. As Mahesh, a taxi driver in Kathmandu remarked, “Most of us are not very happy with the political leaders and the way they are governing the country,” reflecting a broader public mood of political fatigue and discontent. Interestingly, people were looking at the monarchy as an option to return to, as evidenced by a royalist demonstration held in Kathmandu on Nepal’s Democracy Day in February 2024.
Many young people no longer see traditional parties as agents of change, but as part of the problem. During the 2025 protests, social media platforms became key spaces for political discussion and mobilization, making participation more decentralized and culturally expressive.
The political communication of the Gen-Z reflected a changing political consciousness, focusing less on ideology and more on concrete problems such as corruption, unemployment, inflation, governance failures, bureaucratic inefficiency, and a general lack of opportunities. Their frustration targeted not just one government, but a political system, which proved unable to satisfy the requirements of the masses.
The Gen Z protests lacked unified leadership or a clear ideology, which was both a strength and weakness. While this made the movement harder for traditional parties to control, it also limited its ability to achieve long-term organizational or institutional change.
Questions were also raised about the role of global tech giants operating in Nepal, particularly their reluctance to comply with government directives and local regulatory frameworks. Critics within the political establishment argued that social media companies failed to adequately respond to requests related to misinformation, inflammatory content, and coordinated online mobilization, thereby weakening the state’s ability to manage the crisis.
After the downfall of the K.P. Oli government, several rounds of meetings took place between representatives of the Gen Z protest movement, sections of civil society, and constitutional actors, including the President’s Office and the army. There was a broad agreement on the formation of an interim government to restore peace and public faith in state institutions, as well as to initiate general elections for a newly elected government in the Kathmandu Valley. The Gen Z protesters demanded an independent inquiry into the violence which had claimed several students’ lives. Other civil and political groups raised the following demands: an end to corruption and patronage politics benefiting the political elite, employment and economic opportunities for Nepal’s youth, institutional reforms, and dignity and security within Nepal.
Balen Shah as a Prime Minister
Shah furnished himself an anti-establishment aura through his simple style and use of regional and Hindu religious symbols in his campaign. After entering office, Shah’s government emphasized anti-corruption reforms in Nepal’s political patronage, misuse of public funds, bribery, and weak accountability within state institutions. His administration also pledged investigations into violence during the 2025 protests and promised institutional reforms aimed at rebuilding public trust in the state. His new government has introduced an ambitious 100-point action plan focused on addressing corruption and modernizing state institutions and has created an online accountability dashboard.
However, the government has faced criticism for moves like the eviction of landless squatters and informal settlers in Kathmandu being carried out without due process, alternative housing, or proper rehabilitation measures. Legal experts have raised concerns over forced displacement, inadequate notice periods, and reported deaths linked to the demolition drive. Besides UN experts, who urged Nepal to halt mass forced evictions in Kathmandu, the Prime Minister also faced protests from other groups, including Gen Z.
The new administration’s decision to introduce measures to ban political activities of students' unions and trade unions, so that universities and state intuitions remain free from political influences triggered protests by civil society, student groups, trade unions, and opposition parties. The Supreme Court of Nepal later issued an interim stay on the government’s orders, making the issue one of the first major controversies faced by the new government.
On the external front, the Shah cabinet faces the challenge of carefully balancing relations with India, China, and the United States while asserting Nepal’s strategic autonomy amid shifting regional geopolitics.
Alongside, the new administration must now restore confidence in parliamentary democracy through transparent decision-making, institutional reforms, and respect for democratic norms. Addressing corruption, nepotism, and bureaucratic inefficiency will remain central to rebuilding public trust, particularly among the youth who formed the core of Shah’s political support.
Political analysts are observing his actions closely. An opinion piece in the Kathmandu Post by Deepak Thapa observes, “Prime Minister Balendra Shah is increasingly displaying authoritarian and populist tendencies similar to former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, with critics accusing him of bypassing democratic norms, ignoring due process, and centralizing decision-making.” It warns that “Shah’s impulsive governance style, silence toward public accountability, and disregard for institutional culture are creating growing public disappointment despite the massive expectations that brought him to power.”
There are multiple opinions about the performance of the Balen government, and while it might be too early to judge his work or performance, there is some fatigue towards his popularity amongst the youth.
The Gen Z protests and the subsequent election of Balendra Shah as Prime Minister mark a pivotal transformation in Nepal's political landscape. Driven by deep public frustration over corruption in the government system, unemployment, and elite-driven governance—via the dominance of traditional political families and parties, such as the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)—the Gen Z mobilisation signaled a collective demand for accountability, transparency, and genuine institutional reform. Shah's rapid ascent reflected the appeal of new leadership, promising to address long-standing grievances and restore faith in the system.
What Comes Next for Nepal
Shah’s government will also need to address unresolved questions surrounding ethnic federalism, social justice, and inclusion that continue to shape Nepal’s democratic transition. While the federal structure was designed to correct the historical exclusion of Janajati, Dalit, Madhesi, and other marginalized communities, concerns persist regarding inadequate implementation of constitutional commitments related to representation, inclusion, and equitable access to state institutions. Questions surrounding proportional participation in bureaucracy and security forces, effective fiscal devolution, and provincial autonomy remain central to Nepal’s political discourse. For the Shah government, responding meaningfully to these structural inequalities will be essential not only for strengthening democratic legitimacy, but also for ensuring that the promise of political transformation extends beyond anti-establishment rhetoric to include substantive social and economic justice for historically marginalized communities.
The future of Nepal's democracy will depend on the administration's ability to deliver on its promises, respect democratic norms, and create inclusive opportunities for the next generation. Whether this moment of generational change becomes a turning point or a fleeting episode will be determined by the actions and choices made in the years ahead.
