One week after the government-Madhesi Morcha talks failed, Prime Minister KP Oli has once again called a meeting with the agitating Madhesi parties.
Oli has also asked the NC to participate in talks scheduled for Monday and help forge a consensus with the Madhesi parties.
On 18 November, the government-Morcha talks, billed as 'decisive' by the ruling coalition, had ended inconclusively. The NC did not take part in that meeting, saying it was not 'informed'.
The Morcha, a coalition of four Madhesi parties, has demanded that the ruling coalition and the NC come up with a concrete proposal on which of its demands can be met.
The Madhesi parties have already rejected the ruling coalitions' proposal to form an all-party panel to redraw boundaries of federal provinces.
On Sunday, top leaders of the ruling coalition and the NC held talks to come up with a joint proposal to address demands raised by the Madhesis. But no decision has been taken so far, according to an NC leader.
UCPN (M), a member of the ruling coalition, has said it is ready to redraw the boundary of Madhes province by splitting the disputed districts in the east. But the NC, particularly its influential leader Krishna Sitaula, is against breaking the eastern plains districts.
As the UML-led ruling coalition and the NC struggle to come up with a common proposal on the Madhesi demands, there is little hope that Monday's talks will bear fruits.
Relations between the ruling collation and the Morcha have soured since the previous indecisive talks. The Morcha, which had cleverly avoided confrontations with security forces by just concentrating on blocking the Nepal-India border points, is once again trying to obstruct the East-West highway.
Last week four people were killed when police opened fire to disperse Madhesi protesters trying to block the highway in Saptari district.
The UML also allegedly mobilised its cadre to stop top Madhesi leaders from addressing a gathering in Sunsari district, widening rift with the Morcha. Violent protests and counter-protests seen in the past week have deepened the government-Morcha distrust, and Monday's meeting is likely to end up just as a formality.