In a swift move, President KR Narayanan, late Wednesday evening asked Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to seek a vote of confidence on his Government. A do-or-die battle now appears inevitable in the budget session of parliament which resumes on Thursday after a month-long recess.

The presidential directive came as a rude shock to the ruling BJP, which steadfastly stuck to the view earlier that there was no justification for a confidence vote as demanded by the opposition. On the contrary, the BJP had argued, it was for the opposition to bring a no-confidence motion against the Government. After the presidential notification, however, the BJP said it would honour the President's directive.

While a war of attrition has now unleashed between the ruling and the opposition quarters following the AIADMK withdrawal, the day-long developmentssuggest that neither was too sure of carrying the day, claims from both sides notwithstanding.

The ruling coalition ran short of at least 13 members to reach the magic figure of 272 to win the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha. A beleaguered BJP was anxiously looking for support from the DMK (six members), BSP (five), Indian National Lok Dal of Chauthala (four) and a few independents to scrape through the ordeal. This is in spite of the fact that Chauthala has publicly declared that he would not extend support to the BJP.

DMK was under pressure from the Left parties not to support the BJP-led Government in the trial of strength. Karunanidhi said he would give a deep thought to the suggestion and take a decision after consulting senior party colleagues as also the party's executive.

Chauthala too proved to be a difficult bait, BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana's several rounds of meetings with him notwithstanding. He told newspersons that he would oppose the BJP-led Government.

Even BSP's Kanshi Ram keptthe ruling party guessing after he said his party was yet to take a stand in the matter. He indicated that the BSP would take a decision on the floor of the house.

It would not be far incorrect to say that the BJP in the present situation could try offering bait to as many as seven independents who at the moment appeared siding with the opposition

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, who was offering issue-based outside support to the coalition, went on record, however, saying that his party (11 MPs) would back the Government in the event of a no-confidence vote.

The presidential decision in favour of a confidence vote followed a demand to this effect by a group of senior opposition leaders from several parties, including the Congress, Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha and the Left parties, when they met Narayanan in the evening and asked him to direct the Prime Minister to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha.

They told the President that the Government had been reduced to a minority after withdrawal of support bythe AIADMK and five other MPs earlier. They asserted that parliament cannot transact any business unless the Government proved its majority in the house.

Alternatively, the opposition parties were also discussing the prospect of pushing a no-confidence motion as soon as the Lok Sabha meets tomorrow. Jayalalitha, senior Congress leaders like Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar, Pranab Mukherjee and others, CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet, his CPI counterpart AB Bardhan and the Yadav duo--Mulayam and Laloo--held consultations among themselves.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Jayalalitha are likely to meet on Thursday, according to party sources. Sonia herself held a long meeting with senior party leaders to take stock of the situation earlier in the day, but was keeping her decision close to her chest till the major non-Congress opposition leaders meet and express their opinion on the emerging political scenario.

Vajpayee met the coalition partners at his Race Course residence in the evening todiscuss the political situation and chalk out a strategy to meet the looming threat of a no-confidence motion. Before the meeting earlier in the day, Vajpayee exuded confidence saying his Government faced no threat in the wake of the AIADMK withdrawal.

BJP general secretary and spokesman Venkiah Naidu echoed the Prime Minister's confidence when he told reporters that the Government had its own calculation and that it would survive with the help of friendly parties and MPs. He, however, refused to name them saying it would be proved on the floor of parliament.

Left party leaders, including Surjeet, on Wednesday spoke to DMK chief M.Karunanidhi on phone and appealed to him not to support the BJP. Karunanidhi reportedly responded by saying that he would consult the executive of his party before taking a final decision in the matter. AB Bardhan is credited with the view that the DMK would ultimately side with the third front and would not bail out the BJP.

Even as the no-holds barred political battle ragedbetween the treasury and the opposition quarters, there were allegations and counter-allegations of horse trading of MPs.

RJD's Laloo Yadav said the BJP was out to manoeuvre a victory through foul means by outrightly offering allurements to MPs. The allegation was hotly denied by the BJP, which said the opposition was indulging in that game.

BJP chief Kushabhao Thakre said some external forces were out to destabilise the Vajpayee Government. He did not, however, clarify who he described as external forces.

The political momentum caught speed sufficiently early in the day after Jayalalitha met President Narayanan at 11 am and announced after a 40-minute meeting with him that her party had withdrawn support with immediate effect.

It touched off a flurry of political activities all round, with all political parties huddled into separate meetings charting out their course of action. That was capped by an all opposition party meeting with President Narayanan in the evening.