Balendra Shah’s ‘Road Show’ in Madhesh Draws Criticism for Brief Salik Tribute

Senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Balendra Shah, has been conducting a vehicle-centered “road show” along the Postal Highway to engage voters in the remote areas of Madhesh ahead of the House of Representatives election on Falgun 21. As part of this tour, he reached Rajbiraj in Saptari, at the eastern border of Madhesh Province, greeting people from his vehicle without disembarking.

From early morning, party leaders, workers, and supporters had gathered in Rajbiraj, waiting for Shah to interact with them, but he remained in his car throughout. Upon reaching Gajendra Chowk, he briefly threw a garland on the statue of the late leader Gajendranarayan Singh (Gajendra Babu) while remaining in the vehicle, leaving local party workers and supporters watching without close participation.

The program had planned for him to proceed to the nearby party office after paying respects at the statue. However, Shah did not stop at the party office either, continuing his drive past it. Many leaders and supporters waited for over an hour at a hotel in Rajbiraj, expecting him to return for a proper garlanding ceremony, but he proceeded westward along the Postal Highway after his meal, leaving supporters disappointed.

The act of garlanding Gajendra Babu’s statue from inside the car drew criticism and a video of the incident went viral on social media.

According to the RSP, Shah is traveling along the Postal Highway toward Dhanusha, passing a diversion built beside the collapsed Kamala River bridge in Siraha, with plans to continue to Parsa, the western border district of Madhesh Province.