The policy shift by the Nepali Congress Party, which has traditionally supported keeping a ceremonial king, came as King Gyanendra’s only son and heir languished in hospital after suffering a heart attack. Doctors said Crown Prince Paras was recovering well. He is an unpopular playboy accused of nightclub brawls, fast driving and reckless living in one of the world’s poorest countries. But the Congress party signalled the days of the two century-old dynasty were nearly over.

“The central working committee of Nepali Congress has decided, in principle, to vouch for a federal republic,” Nepali Congress chief whip Ananda Prasad Dhungana told AFP.

He said the decision would be voted on later this month by a bigger party meeting. If approved, it would mean the “Nepali Congress will officially stand for a federal republic,” to be declared after elections set for November.

King Gyanendra was already unpopular when he came to the throne after a palace massacre blamed on a drunken crown prince in 2001. He earned international condemnation when he sacked the government and assumed direct control.