How Yalambar entered Nepal’s election battle

India Today

Ahead of Nepal’s 2026 elections, two PM hopefuls — Kathmandu’s rapper-mayor Balen Shah and Dharan’s social worker Harka Sampang — are invoking Yalambar.

Transcript

00:00There is a very interesting cultural subplot playing out in Nepal ahead of the national election in March 2026.

00:17It involves two Prime Minister aspirants and one part historical, part mythological figure called Yalambar.

00:23Who is he? I will tell you in just a bit.

00:26First, the two main political actors. Meet Prime Minister aspirant Baryan Shah, rapper and Kathmandu mayor.

00:34His supporters say he has transformed Kathmandu from a dirty old town to a spick-and-span cultural landmark.

00:42Then, there is Prime Minister aspirant Harka Sampan, the independent politician and social worker who's been serving as the mayor of Dharan,

00:49a town in eastern Nepal with a significant Kirat Railimbu Janajathi presence.

00:54Sampurna Mithralai, Hardik Namaskar, Samithra Arruf.

00:57Saksaswane deshlaai rajan talai nyaya dejan talai nyaya dejan talai nyaya de.

01:04On 15th January, both of them ended up on the same stage in Kathmandu.

01:08The occasion, the Haang Yalambar Memorial Award ceremony.

01:11Speaking of the event, Mayor Harka Sampan in his own inimitable way made his Prime Minister ambition more than apparent.

01:17In this event, he will be in his own language, but he will be in his Prime Minister.

01:25Meanwhile, Balinshaw's vow understated and restricted himself to calling Yalambar God.

01:29I have no idea how to call Yalambar.

01:32I have no idea how to call Yalambar.

01:34Why do I call Yalambar?

01:35Yalambar is believed in Nepal's traditional lore to be the first ruler of the Kirat dynasty in the Kathmandu Valley.

01:43Medieval chronicles claim he ruled around 800 BCE and that his descendants governed the valley for over a thousand years.

01:49Kirati tradition links him to the Bahabharat, identifying him with Varbarik, Bhima's grandson whose head watched the Kurukshetra war.

01:57Nepal is very, very diverse, but in a broad sense, you can place Harka Sampan in the country's Janajati bloc,

02:03specifically the Kiratrai community from eastern Nepal.

02:06Balinshaw is expected to contest against former Prime Minister K.P. Oli from a seat in eastern Nepal,

02:11where Sampan's Kiratrai community could have a deciding say.

02:18Balinshaw does not come from a single caste or ethnicity-based voting bloc.

02:21Some reports say he has maithli roots and comes from a Madhesi family background.

02:26The Madhesis are a minority in Nepal.

02:28But Balinshaw support is urban, youth-driven and anti-establishment,

02:33cutting across Brahmin, Chhetri, Nawar and Janjati lines.

02:36If you want, I can do a political round-up of who's leading the Prime Minister race

02:40and my currently playing a show first things fast. Just drop me a comment here.

02:43Also, do like and share this video.

02:45Hi, Manish Adhikari. Thank you for watching The Culture Project on board.

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