Nepal today stands at a critical intersection. Prime Minister Balendra Shah has captured public imagination with his compelling icon of modern governance, promising to separate politics from administration and insisting that the government must serve citizens rather than partisan interests. Yet the central question remains: Is PM Balendra truly governing, or merely presiding over government machinery? The honeymoon period has now ended, and the verdict on his first hundred days demands honest examination.
The promise and the reality
Within his first hundred days, PM Shah unveiled an ambitious ‘shopping list’ of reforms, installed a youthful cabinet, and passed the 2026/27 budget. These actions initially inspired hope among citizens weary of conventional politics. However, for ordinary Nepalis: farmers, wage earners, students, housewives, and commuters’ tangible relief remain conspicuously absent. Instead, recycled appointments, politically exposed figures in universities, and retirees recalled to key posts evoke frustration rather than confidence. Essential services remain stagnant while kitchen prices soar from Taplejung to Surkhet. The paradox is stark and unsettling: the leader most cherished by the electorate risks missing the very mission of governance that brought him to power. Unless PM Balendra moves beyond symbolism toward substantive reform, hope may dissolve into disillusionment, trapping Nepal once again in cycles of stagnation.
The state of public health
When citizens voted for the RSP, they envisioned accessible, affordable healthcare delivered with dignity at their doorsteps from the hills of Mugu to the valleys of Dang. The reality, however, is starkly different. Public health institutions remain crippled: doctors are frequently absent, new equipment lies idle, and families are forced to sell gold or mortgage land to pay for private treatment. From district headquarters to Bir Hospital, TU Teaching Hospital, Patan, and Bhaktapur, the story repeats itself overcrowded wards, scarce professionals, and indifference where compassion should prevail. This is not the governance people hoped for.
Reform has yet to materialize, leaving citizens frustrated and despairing. The absence of humility and kindness, compounded by systemic neglect, steadily erodes public trust. Without visible improvements affordable care, functioning institutions, humane treatment; the government risks squandering the very mandate that brought it to power. Governance must move beyond endless discussion; it must deliver tangible relief to those who need it most.
The crisis in public education
Education stands among the most critical public goods. Citizens expected that strengthening public schools would reduce dependence on costly private institutions. Yet the reality remains disappointing. The Ministry of Education has staged drama rather than genuine reform. Private schools continue to impose rising monthly fees and arbitrary charges in the name of ‘development’, ‘annual costs’, ‘stationery’, and ‘infrastructure’. Parents are forced to pay inflated prices for school supplies, often far higher than market rates. Instead of protecting families, regulators appear complicit, allowing profiteering to flourish unchecked.
Where is the reform that PM Balendra promised? Where is the accountability for schools that ruthlessly burden parents with punitive costs under countless headings? Neither public education shows signs of meaningful improvement, nor do private schools face consequences for exploitative practices. This failure leaves citizens deeply frustrated. Parents who once hoped for relief now confront the same cycle of exploitation. Without decisive action to strengthen public education and regulate private institutions, PM Shah’s mission risks becoming yet another unfulfilled promise.
Energy governance: Promise unfulfilled
Hydropower has long been hailed as Nepal’s economic game-changer, with estimates suggesting more than Rs 10trn in investment opportunities for new projects. Yet the Ministry of Energy’s disappointing performance has become another source of public frustration. Instead of meaningful reform, the sector remains mired in favoritism: some officials are removed, others are protected, and key appointments appear to be influenced more by political patronage than merit and performance.
The situation across the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), its subsidiaries, and government-promoted hydropower companies reveals a troubling pattern. Leadership positions at institutions such as Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Company, Rastriya Prasharan Grid Company Limited, Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited, and numerous others continue to be held by officials whose appointments have attracted public scrutiny. Although senior officials at the Ministry reportedly signaled that these appointments would be reviewed, no meaningful action followed.
Instead, the government’s subsequent engagement with the same officials created the perception that its initial commitment to accountability had given way to accommodation. Many of these institutions continue to operate under acting leadership for extended periods or under long-entrenched management. The inconsistency is difficult to ignore. While the government moved swiftly to remove the leadership of NEA, SEBON, and ERC through ordinances or executive decisions, officials heading several government-promoted hydropower companies have remained in place. Such uneven application of governance reforms inevitably raises questions about the credibility and consistency of the government’s reform agenda.
Despite repeated promises of governance reform, PM Shah’s administration has largely failed to establish consistent standards of accountability, transparency, and merit-based appointments across the sector. The result is a system in which public enterprises are not treated equally, governance standards remain weak, and the enormous potential of Nepal’s hydropower sector is being squandered through poor leadership and weak oversight. Hydropower could transform Nepal’s economy, but without decisive leadership, the promise will remain unrealized.
Banking and finance: A fragile foundation
Nepal’s economy today stands at a fragile path where governance must extend beyond symbolism into structural reform. PM Balendra’s promise of modern administration resonates with citizens, yet the banking and financial sector exposes the fragility of this mission. Financing for SMEs: the backbone of any economy remains shallow. Class-A BFIs prefer lending to promoters and large shareholders, leaving new sectors starved of credit. Deposits are abundant, but the Nepal Rastra Bank has failed to deepen monetary policy or widen access.
PM Balendra’s direct meetings with the NRB governor and business elites, bypassing his finance and commerce ministers, echo the old political style he vowed to replace. Governance cannot be reduced to private consultations; it must energize cabinet institutions and deliver results. The capital market suffers from favoritism, with retirees recycled into leadership instead of visionary reformers. Oversight of listed firms is weak, and SME financing windows like those pioneered in China remain absent. Nepal's financial system requires ruthless oversight, credible appointments, and policies that channel credit into productive sectors. Without decisive reform, the promise of change risks dissolving into repetition.
The disconnect: 68,348 votes and zero public meetings
The electoral triumph of PM Balendra in Jhapa-5 was nothing less than a political earthquake. By unseating Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli; a four-time PM and Chairman of CPN-UML by a staggering margin, PM Balendra did not merely secure a parliamentary seat; he earned a resounding democratic mandate for transformative change. This was no ordinary turnover. It was a profound expression of trust and hope from the electorate, signaling their desire for a genuine ‘game-changer’ capable of addressing Nepal’s most entrenched challenges. Yet the magnitude of this endorsement makes his subsequent disengagement from the very populace that elevated him to power both perplexing and disconcerting.
In a vibrant democracy, governance must embody Lincoln’s ideal: of the people, by the people, and for the people. That principle, however, appears conspicuously absent from the current administration’s practice. Following such a historic victory, it is an egregious oversight that PM Balendra has not prioritized direct, substantive engagement with his constituents. The absence of town hall meetings, public forums, or structured dialogues leaves citizens distressed, awaiting acknowledgment and reciprocity. This democratic silence raises a fundamental question: is this the expected conduct of a leader entrusted with a landslide mandate?
The disconnection is further compounded by internal inconsistencies within the RSP. While the party commendably organized orientations for its lawmakers with intellectuals and public figures, Balendra Shah himself; the senior leader and PM, failed to address this critical assembly. Such absenteeism signals fragility within the political party governance that risks appearing rudderless. Equally troubling is his omission in thanking or meeting RSP lawmakers whose support was instrumental in his election as Parliamentary Leader. This neglect undermines cohesion at a time when unity is indispensable.
The path forward
As the administration’s ‘honeymoon period’ is no more, the record of its first hundred days remains conspicuously thin. PM Balendra has been absent from the parliamentary floor and reluctant to engage the public. Citizens do not demand ceremonial pageantry; they demand substantive dialogue. From Phungling in Taplejung to the streets of Kathmandu and villages of Dang, the electorate that placed its faith in him now feels abandoned. Governance cannot be conducted from insulated rooms in Singha Durbar or the kitchen cabinet of Baluwatar.
PM Balendra must transcend these confines visiting schools, hospitals, farms, and communities to honor the monumental trust placed in him. The time for rhetoric has passed. The time for visible, accountable, people-centric governance is now. The real test of PM Balendra’s administration lies not merely in governing the government but in reforming the institutions entrusted with Nepal’s future. Without such transformation, the hope that swept him into power may dissolve into the very disillusionment he promised to overcome.
