As the leaders involved in the talks had repeatedly claimed that they would reach an agreement before Tuesday's parliament meeting, it was widely expected that leaders will further narrow down the differences by Monday night even if a deal is not reached.
However, as the leaders emerged from the interparty meeting held at the prime minister's official residence at Baluwatar, the interlocutors said they made no progress at all.
Representatives from the agitating Madhesi parties drew a conclusion that there is no point continuing the talks at the joint taskforce level.
"We couldn't make any progress today as members of the taskforce representing the big three parties did not come up with any solution. On each issue, they say they have to consult their top leaders," Sadbhavana Party Co-chairman Laxman Lal Karna told Republica. "We have now drawn a conclusion that there is no point of talks because the major parties have no intention to resolve the disputes."
However, Nepali Congress leader Mahesh Acharya claimed that the taskforce-level talks are still relevant and that solution can be found even after holding more discussions within each party.
He, however, admitted that talks have failed to make desired progress. "In the past, we used to discuss various alternatives but today we discussed only one option, so dispute surfaced," said Acharya.
Also, Mangalsiddhi Manandhar, a leader of the Federal Socialist Forum Nepal, said that talks couldn't make progress "as major parties wanted to defer the problem instead of resolving it with sincerity."
CPN-UML chief whip Bhanubhakta Dhakal said the six-point proposal floated by the agitating parties on Sunday spoilt the talks environment.
In the six-point proposal, Madhesi leaders have demanded that the demarcation issue be resolved on the basis of the recommendations of the erstwhile Constituent Assembly's committee on state restructuring and the suggestions offered by the then State Restructuring Commission.
Also, the Madhesi parties demanded that the proposed political committee should be allowed to delineate two provinces in Tarai-Madhes regions.
Dhakal said the demand to allow the proposed political committee to carving two provinces in the Tarai wasn't acceptable to the major parties.
Earlier in the evening, top leaders from the three major political parties had instructed their members of the taskforce not to include any point in the agreement that would imply that the proposed political committee may delineate two provinces in the Tarai, according to Dhakal.
Major three political parties have also decided to take the constitution amendment bill ahead for endorsement in the House meeting on Tuesday if an agreement with the agitating parties remains elusive.
The parliament meeting was delayed for some days with a view to give time for the leaders to reach a political deal before the amendment bill is endorsed by the House.
The agitating parties have described the bill to amend the constitution incomplete and said it does not address their key demands.
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