Balendra Shah Was NOT appointed as the Prime Minister in Nepal!

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Viral social media posts claimed that Nepalese rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah had been appointed as Nepal’s head of state while the former Prime Minister’s wife was killed in protests. 

However, our investigation reveals that, amidst the protests in Nepal, Shah has not been appointed to any national leadership position, and the former PM’s wife is alive but receiving medical treatment for injuries sustained during an attack.

Social Media Posts :

A social media post circulated stating, “Nepalese rapper appointed to country’s top post” and “Nepalese Prime Minister flees the country. Activists set fire to the Prime Minister’s wife and made the rapper head of state, ” as seen below.

Facebook  | Facebook 

Several news reports also highlighted that, amidst the protests, Ms Ravi Lakshmi Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister of Nepal Jhalanath Khanal, had died of severe burn injuries sustained when protesters set fire to their house in Dallu. 

Given the extensive discussion on social media regarding these statements, we took steps to investigate their veracity.

Fact Check

On August 28th, the Nepalese government announced a deadline for all social media platforms to register officially. The government said that this decision was taken aiming at curbing fake news, hate speech and online fraud.  

Protests erupted across Nepal, especially led by Gen Z, or those born in the late 1990s,  after the government instructed internet service providers to block 26 social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, that failed to comply with the deadline. More information here. 

As protests in Nepal escalated, Nepal’s President Ram Chandra Paudel and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned from their positions. 

One of the names which were being proposed as the next Prime Minister of Nepal was Balendra Shah, also known as Balan. More information here.

Balendra Shah is the mayor of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. He is known as ‘Balan’ and is currently 35 years old. He won the mayoral post as an independent candidate, making him the first person to be elected mayor of Kathmandu without party support. 

Born in Kathmandu in 1990, he studied civil engineering in Nepal and later completed a master’s degree in structural engineering from a technical university in India. Before entering politics, he was popular in Nepal as a rapper and songwriter. His songs often raised issues such as corruption and inequality. In 2022, he contested and won the Kathmandu mayoral election as an independent candidate. More information here.

He is a popular figure among Nepali youth as a rapper. Foreign media have reported that the people of the country were willing to appoint Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah as the next leader of Nepal. Reuters NDTV  Hindustan Times The Times of India 

However, it is nowhere stated that Balendra Shah has been appointed as the head of state of Nepal. Also, no major media outlet, local or foreign, has mentioned that Balendra Shah has been appointed as the head of state of Nepal. 

Sushila Karki became the interim PM of Nepal.

Reuters reported that the country’s Presidential office stated that after the Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli was forced to resign, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has become the first woman to lead Nepal.

Speaking to the media for the first time since her appointment, Sushilak Karki said, “I did not wish for this job. It was after voices from the streets that I was compelled to accept,”. The new PM went on to state that she would hand over to the new government, which will emerge after the elections on 5 March 2026. BBC

Wife of Ex-Nepal PM is in critical condition, after burn injuries

Also, a story circulated on social media that Ravi Lakshmi Chitrakar, the wife of former Nepali Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, had died after she had been forcibly taken into her house by a group of protesters and set on fire. 

However, Dr Kiran Nakarmi, director of the Nepal Cleft and Burn Centre in Kirtipur, has confirmed to a group of investigators that Chitrakar was alive but in a critical condition and was receiving treatment. More information here and here.

Also on September 11, in an interview with BBC News Nepal, former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal spoke about the attack on his wife. He said that her condition is serious and that she is receiving treatment. More information here.

Accordingly, initial reports in Indian and Nepali media outlets stated that the Prime Minister’s wife Chitrakar had died in the attack. Later, it was clarified that she was alive but in critical condition. More information here and here.

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Conclusion :

It is confirmed that Ravi Lakshmi Chitrakar, the wife of former Prime Minister of Nepal Jhalanath Khanal, is not dead, but in critical condition, recuperating from burn injuries. Also, the claims of rapper Balendra Shah being appointed as the head of state of Nepal are false, as the former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has been appointed as the interim PM of Nepal till the elections to be held in March 2025.