Two candidates in the election fray for the March 5 House of Representatives elections in Manang have withdrawn their nominations, officials said.

Ram Prasad Paudel, chief returning officer of Manang, stated that CPN-UML candidate Polden Chopang Gurung and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) candidate Kubir Singh Gurung submitted their withdrawal requests. The deadline for withdrawing nominations is 1pm on Friday.

“Requests have been received from the UML and RPP candidates. The final decision will be made after 1pm,” he said.

With five candidates initially filing nominations, the withdrawal of two would leave three candidates in the race. So far, Nepali Congress candidate Tek Bahadur Gurung, Nepali Communist Party candidate Yashoda Subedi, and Mongol National Organisation candidate Ram Bahadur Ghale have confirmed their nominations, according to assistant election officer Deepak Dahal.