KATHMANDU: Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Monday called on all political parties in the Parliament to make efforts to form a majority government. President Bhandari sent a letter to the Parliament Monday, urging it to begin the process of electing a new prime minister on majority basis, the National News Agency reported. The move comes after the political parties failed to form a consensus government within the deadline provided by the president, that expired on Sunday. On July 25, the president called on the political parties to form a consensus government within a week in accordance with the Article 298 (2) of the new Constitution. The Parliament is likely to begin the election procedure of the country’s 39th prime minister on Wednesday as it is preparing to call for nominations on Tuesday. Last week, President Bhandari held consultations with top leaders of three major parties – Nepali Congress, CPN UML and the CPN Maoist-Centre – regarding the formation of the new government. Similarly, the leaders of the major parties also held rounds of discussions with each other in an attempt to reach an understanding; however, they failed to develop consensus as the second largest party in the Parliament CPN UML decided to sit in the opposition.