As many as 100 candidates, including a majority of the rebel candidates, withdrew their nominations on Wednesday while the Election Commission rejected one candidate.

With this, 702 candidates will be in the fray for the first phase of elections for federal parliament and provincial assemblies scheduled to take place on November 26. According to the poll authority, as many as 40 candidates withdrew their candidacy for federal elections and 60 for the provincial assembly polls.

On Sunday, a total of 322 candidates had registered their names for federal parliamentary seats and 481 for provincial parliaments. Most of those who challenged the official candidates of the left alliance of the CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Rastriya Janamorcha withdrew their names on Wednesday, the EC’s deadline.

The left alliance had seen rebel candidates in districts including Ramechhap, Jajarkot, Eastern Rukum, Humla, Baglung, Kalikot, Dolakha, Bajhang and Manang.

Laxmi Gurung, Maoist Centre rebel candidate for federal elections in Ramechhap, and others who defied the party’s candidate for provincial elections reconsidered their decisions. Minister without portfolio Shyam Kumar Shrestha, who is the official candidate of the left alliance for federal parliament, took all the three rebel candidates on a helicopter from Kathmandu to make sure that they pull out of the race.

In Myagdi, six candidates, including two from the Nepali Congress and one from the UML, withdrew their names. According to the District Election Office, one candidate of the federal polls and four for provincial seats rolled back their decision.

UML leader Niraj Acharya, who had announced his provincial assembly candidacy in Jajarkot, has also backtracked. UML youth leader Acharya later responded that he followed the party’s order and that he did not want to weaken the leftist alliance.

Two Maoist candidates pulled back from the federal and provincial polls in Eastern Rukum. Tejendra Kham Magar and Puni Raj Gharti had acted against their official candidates.

The NC also had candidates who defied the party’s official decision of nominating leaders they objected to in districts including Okhaldhunga, Lamjung and Myagdi.

Way cleared for Manange

CPN-UML candidate Khanda Lama has withdrawn her nomination from Manang (Kha) to support independent candidate Rajiv Gurung aka Deepak Manange. Chief Election Officer of Manang and district Judge Deepak Dhakal confirmed Lama’s decision. She reached the Chief Election Officer’s office at around 1pm on Wednesday to withdraw her nomination. Manange, who recently joined the UML, registered his candidacy as an independent for provincial polls following the party centre’s refusal to endorse his bid despite the district committee’s unanimous decision in his favour.

Candidates get election symbols

Election officers in 32 districts distributed poll symbols to the candidates on Wednesday. “The candidates now can start campaigns with their election symbols,” said Nawaraj Dhakal, spokesperson for the EC. The poll body will also print ballot papers for the first-past-the-post electoral system since the symbols for the November 26 polling have been decided.