Kathmandu, Jan. 13 -- A total of 175 candidates have withdrawn their names from the proportional representation lists submitted to the Election Commission for the House of Representatives election, officials said on Monday.

According to the commission, the withdrawals involve candidates from 17 different political parties. The number is largely attributed to the unification of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) and the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), after which 110 proportional candidates from the LSP withdrew their nominations.

As per the election schedule, political parties submitted their closed lists of proportional representation candidates to the commission on December 28 and 29. A total of 64 parties, contesting the election und...