The Pulse | Politics | South Asia

Nepali PM Balendra Shah’s Image as a Change Agent is at Risk

Shah has shown less concern for the health and wellbeing of the poor, and is preoccupied with appearing as a ruthless executor of public plans.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah (center) heads a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 14, 2026.

When 37-year-old Prem Prasad Acharya died after setting himself on fire in January 2023, Balendra Shah was the mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s bustling national capital. Acharya had been frustrated by the repeated failures of his business ventures. At the time, Shah termed the incident a sign of “the state’s extreme failure.”

That comment is now coming back to haunt Shah, the country’s prime minister since March 2026.

On July 9 this year, it was the turn of 25-year-old Ganesh Nepali, a Dalit who was providing for his family by running a ride-hailing service on his motorcycle, to try to self-immolate. He chose to do so rather than pay 1,000 Nepali rupees (roughly $6.5) in parking fines. He died a day later. Nepali was seemingly under great financial stress as he had to support his family on his meager income while paying the bank installments on the bike. At the time of the incident, Nepali had been applying to work in the UAE.

Nearly two weeks later, Shah continues to feel the fallout from the incident.

The parking fine imposed by Kathmandu’s municipal police acted as the immediate trigger for Nepali, who was already under considerable financial strain.

During his term as mayor, Shah had given the municipal police dubious powers that are otherwise given only to traffic police, including the power to impose traffic fines — and those powers continue to be abused. Although the municipal police falls under the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and not under the federal government that Shah leads, its actions continue to be seen as part of Shah’s legacy as mayor.

The Ganesh Nepali controversy was especially damaging because the government at the time was defending proposals for a significant increase in the scope and amount of traffic violation fines, with top fines of 100,000 rupees for some offenses. Even before Nepali’s self-immolation, these proposed fines were widely being criticized as instruments of coercion rather than proportionate regulation.

Then there is the broader picture. Shah, who is now 36, came to power on the back of the youth protests partly fueled by concerns over unemployment and inequality. There has been no visible progress in addressing these problems. Young people remain frustrated by the lack of good jobs and are looking to leave the country the first chance they get.

There is no hard proof that the plight of those who are indebted or in precarious employment has gotten........

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