The Government was clearly bracing itself for the worst--in the form of a mid-term poll--even as its managers claimed the numbers game was not yet over.

The signal came from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself whose Address to the Nation this evening sounded like a pre-election speech. Listing all the achievements of his one-year old Government, Vajpayee said that ever since he assumed office, he has been working ``with one single aim, with one single purpose: to make India strong and self-confident in every sphere of development and defence''. It was the aggressive tone of a government gearing up for an electoral battle.

The Agni test, yesterday's speedy clearance of four major fertiliser projects in key areas and the 10-per cent increase in dearness allowance for governmentemployees are all being seen in political circles as indications that the Vajpayee Government anticipates a snap poll following the withdrawal of support by the AIADMK.

Although the BJP was still making last-minute efforts for survival through the DMK, BSP and other smaller parties, it had added another angle to its negotiations -- to prevent the formation of an alternative government so that Vajpayee continues as caretaker Prime Minister in the run up to the polls.

With the BJP going into combat mode, the Congress is being doubly cautious about its next move so that its brinkmanship with the Third contd, on the question of an alternative government does not boomerang. A long meeting at 10 Janpath this evening concentrated primarily on the party's strategy on the Bhagwat issue when Parliament reconvenes on April 15. Clearly, the Congress is preparing a fallback plan in case the Vajpayee Government manages to tide over the crisis engulfing it.

The caretaker issue seems to have become the main bone ofcontention between the Congress and the Third Front. Some of the latter's constituents, like the HLD and the RLM, are ready to vote the Vajpayee Government out but not the Congress in.

In fact, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav stated in Lucknow today that he would clear the decks for the next government only after ascertaining its constituents. This was a message to the Congress that he may not support the party if it insisted on leading a minority government on its own.

Similarly, the DMK has indicated that it would stay with the Third Front to vote against the Vajpayee Government but it cannot support an alternative government which includes the AIADMK.