Kathmandu’s rising star Balen Shah, challenging KP Sharma Oli in his Jhapa-5 stronghold, has made waves by scrubbing a multi-billion-rupee China-funded project from his campaign manifesto. The Nepal-China Friendship Industrial Park, part of Xi Jinping’s ambitious BRI, now stands as a flashpoint in Nepal’s upcoming March 5 elections.
This interim government poll follows the ouster of Oli’s administration amid youth-led anti-graft uprising last fall. The park’s proximity to India’s vulnerable Siliguri Corridor has fueled New Delhi’s security jitters, with questions swirling over why Nepal greenlit such a venture on its border.
Balen Shah, the 35-year-old RSP leader who morphed from rapper to reformist mayor, commands Gen-Z adoration. Once floated as interim PM, he nixed the idea. His team acknowledges the project’s baggage, opting to sideline it entirely.
Oli, meanwhile, doubles down in his manifesto, vowing to finish the park he foundation-stoned in 2021. As UML head with Beijing bonhomie, his stance contrasts sharply with Shah’s pragmatic pivot.
BRI’s Nepal chapter brims with hurdles: Nepali Congress-UML clashes over commercial loans, chronic delays, and fears of debt like Sri Lanka’s. A CSIF think-tank report details China’s push for extended tax breaks, opposed by Nepal’s treasury, leading to a diluted ‘aid financing’ label.
India explicitly flagged the project as a no-go, advising restraint. Yet under Oli, approvals accelerated. Shah’s removal underscores a generational shift, prioritizing national sovereignty over grand infrastructure promises.
As Nepal votes, this manifesto makeover could galvanize anti-BRI sentiment, challenging Oli’s dominance and heralding a new era in Kathmandu’s foreign policy calculus.