Baburam Bhattarai, the patron of the Progressive Democratic Party (PRLP), who has announced that he will not contest the upcoming House of Representatives elections, arrived in Gorkha on Magh 4, two days before the candidacy registration.

Bhattarai, who participated in a gathering of leading activists in Gorkha-10 Chhebetar, came under pressure to become a candidate. The participants in the gathering warned him in person that if he did not become a candidate, he would not be able to remain in the organization. ‘He was not willing to become a candidate, we had put a lot of pressure on him from the activists, some friends even said that he would not be able to remain in the organization if he did not become a candidate,’ said a worker who participated in the meeting, ‘He agreed to become a candidate after a lot of pressure.’

Bhattarai also announced his candidacy at a press conference on Magh 5. ‘It is not only the party friends who are concerned, but other parties and voters have also said that you should be the candidate, I am filing my candidacy as per everyone’s advice and suggestions,’ he had said at the press conference. On Magh 6, surrounded by Pralopa cadres, Bhattarai had reached the office of the Gorkha-2 Election Officer to register his candidacy. During the candidacy registration, there was a clash between Bhattarai and Prakash Chandra Dawadi, who had come to file his candidacy from the Congress.

During the clash with Bhattarai, Congress candidate Dawadi jokingly requested him to support him this time, saying that he had received support from the Congress in 2074 BS. Congress leaders and workers also jokingly requested him to support them this time. Bhattarai did not give up his insistence on becoming his candidate. After registering his candidacy, he met leaders, workers and even voters. Bhattarai rushed to Kathmandu after reaching Gorkha Durbar and spreading the message that he was on an election campaign. The upcoming House of Representatives election was not easy for Bhattarai, who had won from Gorkha-2 in the 2064 BS and 2074 BS elections. Bhattarai, who left the then CPN-Maoist and formed the Naya Shakti Party, was elected in 2074 BS in an alliance with the Congress. In the 2070 BS Constituent Assembly election, Bhattarai was elected from Gorkha-1. Bhattarai, who supported the then Maoist chairman Pushkamal Dahal in 2079, was determined to contest the election himself this year. But Bhattarai was also skeptical about the math of winning the election.

Most of the cadres who supported Bhattarai from 2064 to 2074 are no longer with him. Only the chairmen of 3 wards of Palungtar, which falls under Gorkha-2, are from Bhattarai's party. There was talk that Bhattarai had also proposed an alliance with other parties, looking at the math of winning the election. After registering his candidacy in the district, Bhattarai had also requested top leaders of the National Independent Party (NISP) and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) to support him. Bhattarai did not get a 'green signal' in separate discussions with both parties. Ultimately, Bhattarai himself withdrew his candidacy. Bhattarai won the 2064 election from the then CPN-Maoist by securing 83 percent of the total votes. Today, RSVP Vice President Swarnim Wagle also urged Bhattrai to withdraw his candidacy and set an exemplary patriotic example on social media. 

In the 2064 election, Bhattarai secured 46,000 votes with a margin of 40,000 votes. In 2074, Bhattarai won from the Congress-SAG alliance in Gorkha 2 by securing 31,807 votes.  

In 2074, Bhattarai's closest rival Narayan Kaji Shrestha secured 28,933 votes. 

Bhattarai, who supported his former colleague, CPN-Maoist coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in the 2079 election, wanted to be a candidate himself in this election.  But after seeing the record of 83 percent votes in 2064 and the old legacy being shaken, he has withdrawn. Along with Bhattarai, Gopal Babu Shrestha of Gorkha-1, who had filed his candidacy from Pralopa, has also withdrawn his candidacy, informed Ravilal Subedi, Information Officer of the District Election Office.

After withdrawing his candidacy, Bhattarai said via Facebook Live that he withdrew his candidacy instead of participating in the election and becoming just an MP, as everyone wanted,
to become a guardian. Bhattarai said that he would stay outside and support the parties. ‘It is necessary to move forward in the direction of rapid economic prosperity, in such a situation, instead of participating in the parliamentary election and becoming just an MP, he would stay outside and support the parties as everyone wanted, and if necessary, become the leader of the country in various ways, so I withdrew my candidacy,’ he said.