Do 2022 local elections mark the death of alternative forces in Nepal?

Before the recent local elections, no one had given Balen Shah a chance. His competitors had joked about him while people affiliated with the parties had said he was no threat. But, seven days after the elections, he shut the mouths of all naysayers as he leads the race to become the mayor of Kathmandu by over 10,000 votes.

This has rocked Nepal’s two major political parties–the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress–as Shah almost has more votes than Keshav Sthapit and Sirjana Singh combined. As of Friday morning, this is not a close contest as Balen Shah aims to become the first independent candidate to become the mayor of Kathmandu .