The ruling coalition has decided to ask the Constituent Assembly (CA) Chair Subhas Nembang to call a meeting.
Calling a CA meeting would mean restarting a voting process, which was halted to bring the opposition to the talks table.
In a meeting at Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday, the ruling NC-UML agreed to not wait for the opposition Maoist-Madhesi any longer.
"We want to restart the voting process sooner than later," said NC leader Purna Bahadur Khadka. "So, we will jointly ask the CA Chair to call a meeting at the earliest possible date."
The CA has not met for the last three weeks. Nembang had postponed the CA meeting on 12 February for an indefinite period, paving the way for the NC-UML and the Maoist-Madhesi to restart negotiations on the contentious issues of the new constitution.
The CA meeting was postponed as the Maoist-Madhesi were not ready to sit in for talks until cancellation or suspension of the voting process, which was initiated after the parties' self-imposed 22 January deadline ended without promulgating the new constitution.
However, even after suspension of the voting process, the Maoist-Madhesi refused to sit in for talks, this time seeking a commitment from the ruling NC-UML to write the new constitution through a consensus.
On 28 February, the UCPN (Maoist)-led alliance of 30 opposition parties organised a mass rally in Kathmandu to put pressure on the NC-UML for talks and consensus. It was expected that the Maoist-Madhesi would return to the talks table after their 28 February rally. But, the UCPN (M) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal warned of more street protests.
Addressing his cadres in Khula Manch, Dahal advised the UML to merge with the NC as 'these two parties were no longer different from each other in terms of political agendas'. Two days later, the UML decided to hold 'serious talks' with the NC about restarting the voting process. And, Tuesday's meeting was an outcome of the UML's decision to persuade the NC for not waiting the Maoist-Madhesi any longer.
To exert pressure on the NC to restart the voting process, the UML had even warned of quitting the government. The UML secretary Pradip Gyawali had said, "there is no point in being in the government if we cannot write a new constitution."
But, NC leader Khadka made it clear that the UML would not quit the government. "We asked UML leaders if they really intended to quit the government," said Khadka. "They said they would not quit the government."