"There may be presidential rule, " says Gagan Thapa from the opposition Nepali Congress Party.

BBC: Nepal's political deadlock reaches crisis point

Then the opposition Nepali Congress Party expects to move into government to oversee elections.

ECONOMIST: Nepal: Peace, in your own time | The

The present government is a wobbly coalition whose main members are Mr Koirala's centrist Nepali Congress Party and a leftist party.

ECONOMIST: Mao guns again

Yet even as the new money was giving a shine to the country's ailing finances, cracks were appearing in Mr Deuba's own, fissiparous, Nepali Congress party.

ECONOMIST: A general election is called

Although there is general agreement over integration and rehabilitation, the opposition Nepali Congress Party is also insisting that the Maoists hand over their weapons as part of the deal to extend the constitutional deadline.

BBC: Nepal's political deadlock reaches crisis point