Balen Shah

Balendra Shah is popularly known as Balen Shah or simply Balen, is a Nepalese rapper and politician. He is currently serving as the 15th mayor of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Shah has been a popular figure in Nepalese hip-hop since the early 2010s. Shah announced his candidacy as an independent and was elected at the 2022 local election, defeating Nepali Congress candidate Sirjana Singh and CPN (UML) candidate Keshav Sthapit. He is the first mayor of Kathmandu to be elected as an independent candidate.