Gorkha, Jan. 23 -- Former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai has withdrawn his candidacy from Gorkha constituency no 2, where he had filed his nomination from the Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party.

Bhattarai decided to pull out of the race following a request from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which has fielded its general secretary Kabindra Burlakoti from the constituency.

Gorkha-2 also has candidates from other major parties, including Prakash Chandra Dawadi of the Nepali Congress, Lekhnath Neupane of the Nepali Communist Party, and CPN-UML's Milan Gurung, who is also known as Chakre Milan.

Explaining his decision in a Facebook video, Bhattarai said his political journey had been driven by a lifelong concern over why Nepal remained t...