When Prime Minister Balendra Shah departed from Kathmandu on Tuesday on a scheduled Qatar Airways flight, there was no guard of honour, no diplomats and officials lining up to say bye, no imported gladioli to be handed to the bodyguard, no motorcade with flashing lights bringing him to the ramp below the plane.
He stepped out of his limo onto the tarmac in his signature all-black attire, shades and Goldstar shoes. Shook hands with Home Minister Sudan Gurung. And that was it.
This low-key departure was universally lauded, even from those usually critical of the RSP ministers pulling off populist stunts.
This was a deliberate departure from the grandiose pomp and ceremony displayed by his predecessors before and after foreign visits. Even the PM’s entourage was minimalist: Chief Adviser Kumar Byanjankar (Ben), his personal secretary, security detail, and a photographer. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal had left for New York with his own small team a few days prior.
This has been Shah’s branding in the seven months he has been in office: to show that he is different from the old leaders.
Prime Minister Shah was received in Doha at the airport by Qatar’s Minister of Transport Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sultani, and was seen in videos being transported via airport buggy with Kumar Ben in his trademark shirt to catch his connecting flight to JFK.
But this attempt to avoid fanfare on departure was in sharp contrast to how his followers on social media portrayed his arrival in New York. Balen fans at home and abroad created a narrative of a wild welcome for their dear leader in New York. AI-generated videos and real clips of other world leaders cruising down Fifth Avenue to cheering crowds were captioned as being for Nepal’s prime minister.
AI AND FAKE CLIPS
Fake photos of Shah being personally received by President Donald Trump at JFK went bacterial on the web, as supporters and even mainstream media who did not know any better, shared it. Videos of Trump sounding the opening bell for the stock market in the Oval Office in July as well as clips of the bell rung at the UN General Assembly floor to mark the beginning of this year’s session were jubilantly shared as representing the RSP’s bell election symbol.
Nepalis need another reminder that the country should not have an inflated sense of its own geopolitical importance. The best way for supporters to prove their backing for Balen may be to let him be who he wants to be.