KATHMANDU: Nepal`s Maoists will push for a return to power on Wednesday when the parliament votes for a new prime minister to fill a three-week political void in the formerly war-ravaged Himalayan country.

The Maoists, who fought a 10-year battle against the state before entering politics and winning elections in 2008, say that as the single largest party in parliament they should lead the government.

They have put forward Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who goes by the name of Prachanda, meaning "the fierce one", for the leadership contest. He served as prime minister after the 2008 vote but quit in May 2009 over a row with the army.

He will face competition from Ram Chandra Paudel, vice chairman of the second-biggest party, the Nepali Congress, and veteran communist leader Jhala Nath Khanal from the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML).

Observers say Prachanda will struggle to get a majority because other parties are reluctant to back the Maoists until they offer a timed commitment to dismantle their army camps and return property seized during the civil war.

Many see Khanal as the most likely victor of the three candidates, possibly with the backing of the Maoists who would form a new hard-left coalition government with the UML.

"I will try my best to garner support until the last minute," the Maoist supremo told reporters after filing his nomination for the premiership.

An inconclusive parliamentary session, which is set to begin at 1100 am (0530 GMT), is also a possible outcome.

The impoverished republic has been in a political limbo for three weeks since the government collapsed after the sudden resignation of former UML prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on June 30.

The former leader headed an unwieldy 22-member coalition government that was seen as weak from the start.

Its time in office was marred by a series of power struggles with the Maoists, led by Prachanda, who quit as PM after a row over the integration of former rebels into the national army.

Nepal`s parliament, or Constituent Assembly, was elected in 2008 with a two-year mandate to complete the peace process and draft a new national constitution.

But it has failed to complete either task on time, hampered by fierce disagreements between the Maoists and their political rivals.

Its term had been due to end on May 28, leaving the country without a functioning legislature, but lawmakers voted to extend it for another year to allow them time to complete the constitution.

BDST: 0913 HRS, July 21, 2010