Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Tuesday held her first direct talks with the top leaders of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) since the Gen Z movement.

The discussion took place at Sheetal Niwas in the presence of President Ramchandra Paudel, who had called the meeting. In attendance were Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, UML chair KP Sharma Oli and NCP coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal—all former prime ministers.

According to officials at Sheetal Niwas, the talks centred on creating a conducive environment for elections. President Paudel had earlier met Prime Minister Karki and former Maoist Centre chair Dahal during the formation of the interim government, but he had not held discussions with Deuba and Oli until Tuesday.

Both the Congress and the UML have criticised the government, saying the movements of former prime minister Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak have been restricted by the interim administration, restricting the parties’ preparations for elections.

UML chair Oli has continued to stress that the dissolution of the House of Representatives was unconstitutional and has prioritised its reinstatement. The Congress and the UML have each filed separate petitions at the Supreme Court seeking reinstatement of the House. Congress lawmakers, backed by a majority within the party, were preparing to submit an additional petition on Tuesday.

Against this backdrop, President Paudel and Prime Minister Karki engaged Deuba, Oli and Dahal in discussions aimed at giving momentum to poll preparations.