Overview
- Election officials reported 3,484 applicants for the 165 first-past-the-post seats after the two-day filing window closed.
- Former prime ministers K P Sharma Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai entered the race from Jhapa-5, Rukum East, Rautahat-1 and Gorkha-2 respectively.
- Former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah will challenge Oli in Jhapa-5, and Nepali Congress president Gagan Kumar Thapa filed for Sarlahi-4.
- Four caretaker ministers resigned to contest: Mahabir Pun (Myagdi, independent), Jagadish Kharel (Lalitpur-2, RSP), Bablu Gupta (Siraha-1) and Kulman Ghising (Kathmandu-3, Ujyaalo Nepal Party).
- The early vote follows last September’s youth-led unrest that prompted parliament’s dissolution, with 18.9 million registered voters set to elect 165 FPTP members and 110 by proportional representation.