The parliamentary vote scheduled to elect the new prime minister on Sunday has been deferred till Tuesday after the main opposition CPN-UML warned of obstructing the House in protest against the Election Commission’s decision to conduct re-election in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-19 where ballot papers were torn up.

The Parliament meeting was put off until Sunday afternoon after the UML said clearly that it would obstruct the House business.

Sources said the UML is awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling on Bharatpur re-polling after a writ petition was filed on Sunday. The court is likely to deliver its initial ruling on Monday.

The party would, however, not obstruct the PM’s election for long as it does not deliver a good message to the public, said a UML leader.

During a meeting of top leaders of the major political parties ahead of postponement of the House, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli demanded two more days for consensus.

The UML knows that the sole candidate for the PM, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, has got a clear majority in the House, a ruling party leader said. But the UML sought a kind of political passage in view of the Bharatpur row.

Talking to reporters on the Parliament premises, Deuba said he was ready for consensus and wanted to join hands with the major parties. “Our best effort is to pick the prime minister on the basis of consensus. So our efforts are going on,” he added.

Senior UML leader and former prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal said his party has no intention to stop Deuba. 

“We won’t join any government at this moment—until the three elections are 

held. For holding the polls, we want some kind of minimum consensus among the parties,” said Khanal.