Youth Power Rising: Nepal's New Political Duo Takes on Old Guard

In a surprising turn, Nepal's political scene is buzzing with fresh energy. Two rising stars, Balendra Shah and Rabi Lamichhane, have teamed up to shake things up. Shah, a former rapper and now mayor of Kathmandu, has joined forces with Lamichhane, a former TV host leading the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Their plan? To challenge the old-school parties that have been in charge for way too long. If their party wins the upcoming March elections, Shah, at just 35, could become the next prime minister. Lamichhane will stay on as the party's leader. This isn't just about politics; it's about the youth. Both leaders are promising to tackle the issues that sparked massive protests last September. Those protests were led by young people, known as Gen Z, who were fed up with corruption. Sadly, 77 people lost their lives during those protests, which eventually led to the resignation of the previous prime minister.Analysts are calling this a smart move. By teaming up, they're bringing together Shah's young supporters and Lamichhane's growing influence. Traditional parties are worried they might lose their young voters to this new alliance. Nepal has a lot of young voters. Nearly 19 million people are eligible to vote, and a lot of them are young. The recent protests even added nearly one million new voters to the rolls. Shah has been a key figure since the protests. He was an unofficial leader for the young protesters and even helped set up an interim government. Now, he's ready to take on the big guns, like Oli's Communist Party and the centrist Nepali Congress party, which have been in power for decades.