Intemperate … MP Kamala Sharma attacks Purna Bahadur Khadka during the vote to abolish Nepal's monarchy.

As the clock ticked towards midnight, a Communist Party member, Kamala Sharma, attacked a Nepali Congress member, Purna Bahadur Khadka, with her shoe.

Mrs Sharma's husband, Rishi, a candidate for last month's election, was shot in mysterious circumstances by a bodyguard before the poll. Mrs Sharma took her husband's place on the ballot and won.

Sources told the Herald yesterday that her attack on Mr Khadka, a former home minister, related to her husband's death. The Nepali Congress has complained about Mrs Sharma's behaviour and she may be suspended from parliament.