Balen’s bargain: 2 lakh votes each per minute of speech during Nepal poll campaign

Kathmandu: Barely 26 minutes of speeches across five political meetings during two weeks of campaign across Nepal.

For the rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah 'Balen,' who is set to become Nepal's youngest elected prime minister on Friday, this was enough to garner 52 lakh votes under the proportionate voting for his party, the RSP.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which had projected the former Kathmandu mayor, popular only as ‘Balen’, as the prime ministerial candidate, secured a massive 182 seats out of a total 275 seats in the March 5 House of Representatives (HoR), making it eligible to form a majority government in the Himalayan nation.

“Balen addressed some 4-5 public meetings from Jhapa in the east to Sudur Paschim in the far west, attracting thousands of people. But, if we look at the duration, he spoke to the point, just 4 or 5 minutes at each meeting,” said Saraswotee Karmacharya, a journalist associated with Nepal Samacharapatra.

Videos available on the party's social media platforms, electronic and print media reports and accounts by party workers show that Balen's speeches were informal.

It was more as if he spoke to people casually. “Have you taken your tea?” “What sort of vegetable did you have today?” “You consumed the vegetables grown locally or imported from across the border?” “In Janakpur, he spoke in Maithali language, his mother tongue, and while touring Sudur Paschim, he wrote a status on social media in Doteli language saying ‘Sudur ab door naahi, Jhikke, Jhikke Maya Tamlai,’ meaning, ‘Far west is no more far away, many many love to you’,” said Birendra Kumar Jha, lecturer and a resident of Janakpurdham, who keenly listened to his speeches.

At other places, Balen spoke in the Nepali language, the national language.

Party workers said Balen didn't even ask for votes during the campaign. “In one of the speeches, he said, 'I am here not to seek votes for us, but I am here to ask for work to be done. Even if our party doesn't win, we will work for the people',” said journalist Karmacharya.

Addressing an election campaign in Janakpur, he said, “Don't cast a vote for me being a son of Madhesi, but give your vote for being a good candidate.” Commenting on Balen’s substantially different campaign style, Jha said his speeches were "short, sweet, to the point and impressive".

“Unlike other candidates, Balen didn't criticise any political party or candidate, didn't give big assurances or promises. He touched the hearts of the common people, and also talked about local problems,” Jha added.

In one of his hit speeches in Dhangadhi assembly constituency in western Nepal, Balen said, “We don't need to convert our country into Switzerland. Here we have Badhimalika and Khaptad National Park, which are more beautiful than Switzerland.” Balen, with his signature dark goggles and black blazer, always carried a small metal bell, the RSP symbol, to his political rallies. His short speeches were always preceded by the ringing of that bell, which, his party workers said, was a warning to the opposition.