KATHMANDU, May 28: Mayor Balen Shah, 32, and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, 29, have taken command of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The general public have handed over the reins of the country's largest metropolis to these two youths with hopes of seeing change with the participation of youths in politics.
There was not as much discussion about Mayor Balen Shah before the elections. But that has changed after the start of the vote counting. In fact, it was when he overtook the other contestants in the vote count that Balen became the talk of the town.
On the other hand, Sunita had filed her candidacy for the post of KMC Deputy Mayor from the CPN-UML. She received over 68,000 votes in the local election 2022, winning over many supporters to her side with her ‘beauty with brains’ character.
Sunita, 29, was born to father Satu Dangol and mother Sangita Dangol. She has a brother and a sister. Sunita, who lost her father at an early age, is a native of Kathmandu metropolis.
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Having worked regularly in the metropolis for a long time, her plan to enter politics and take leadership was not a coincidental one. While soliciting votes, Dangol had said to locals that she had been preparing to make the country's capital development-oriented by becoming a candidate for an important post in the KMC for the past few years.
She used to say that young people with new thinking and enthusiasm are needed to make this country prosperous. Sunita is of the view that the responsibility of leadership should be given to the deserving youths in order to make the country prosperous in the age of information technology by making the best use of it.
Stating that she has closely observed the development and prosperity of other countries during her foreign trips, she said that she will develop Kathmandu as a tourist and cultural city by forming a team of veterans and experts to fulfill her vision.
Sunita had even put forward some of her plans after announcing her candidacy in the deputy-mayoral race. She had unveiled a manifesto with eight pillars of prosperity. Sunita, who has been active in various social work, said that she has already prepared models for proper waste management, traffic management, engineering, infrastructure development, digital Kathmandu, research development and youth empowerment and cultural heritage model for the development of Kathmandu.
Sunita has claimed that she will prove herself to be competent by working rather than speaking. She says that the only thing that can be done is to spread confusion among the people by showing only dreams. She said that she has divided her agendas into three parts namely short term, medium term and long term.
Sunita, who became Miss Newa in 2011, is fluent in Newari. Recently, she was also working as an assistant planner in Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
Sunita ran a radio and TV show and started a Nepali language class called Callijatra at the time of COVID-19. She also conducted Nepali language classes on social media and various other programs. She has also moderated programs and conducted educational programs on Nepal Television.
Since becoming the deputy mayoral candidate, people from different walks of life have given positive reactions about her on social media. Some young people are even praising her beauty and smile, calling her a 'national crush'.
