But the charisma of the former guerrillas soon faded and the Maoist-led government collapsed in less than a year.

No cooperation

Political analyst and editor of Nepal's

Samay

magazine, Yuvraj Ghimre, says their efforts to form a government for the second time are not succeeding because they have been unable to work in cooperation with other parties.

"The Maoists is also in a way isolated or cornered, because when it was heading the government in the past, it basically refused to take suggestion, from any of the coalition partners," Ghimre said. "That is why they are not very willing to support the Maoists."

One of the main points of contention between the Maoists and other political parties is the future of about 20,000 former Maoist fighters, who are currently confined in U.N.-supervised camps. The Maoists want them integrated into the army, but other parties are refusing.

The infighting among the main parties has held up the main task with which parliament was entrusted – the writing of a new constitution for the country. Parliament's tenure was extended by a year after it missed the May 2010 deadline for writing the constitution.

New constitution

But the continuing political impasse has raised worries whether the constitution can be framed by next year.

Kunda Dixit, editor of

Nepali Times

, says the three main parties are refusing to step aside because they want a decisive say in the writing of the new constitution.