A day ahead of the discussion on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, the UPA government is walking a tightrope. Definitions seemed to be closer than expected as the RLD and the JD(S), whose six seats were crucial for the Congress, announced their support to the reframed third front and its leader Mayawati on Sunday.
The government managers, however, expressed ?full confidence? and said they are trying for ?maximum abstentions? to make things easy for both the government and the Indo-US nuclear deal. On the other hand, the Left, UNPA and the NDA camps claimed that the numbers are against the government.
Allies of the UPA, like JMM and MIM, who were wavering till now, pledged their support to the government after a series of negotiations involving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Voting on the confidence motion will take place on Tuesday.
Continuing his ?power play,? SP general secretary Amar Singh rallied BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a press conference. One more independent MP has decided to vote for the government. ?It is a touch-and-go situation. But we are confident of managing the numbers,? a key player, who is a part of the negotiations for the Congress, told FE. ?Let us see who all will vote and who all will abstain,? the leader said citing the confusion among certain NDA partners like the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal.
The Capital witnessed hectic parleys between and within the political parties. The Prime Minister hosted a dinner for all UPA constituents, while the BSP and the Left parties held meetings of their parliamentarians. In the NDA dinner, the BJP flaunted rebel Congress MP Kuldeep Bishnoi.
Meanwhile, the split in SP continued; with their senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Salim Sherwani reportedly talking to Mayawati and offering his support to the ?cause against the nuclear deal.? Three of the defected SP MPs visited Mayawati?s home here and announced their decision to work with the BSP.
??We are 100% sure that the government will be defeated in the trust vote. You will be surprised to see who will vote against the government,? former SP leader and MP Munawar Hasan told reporters after meeting Mayawati. ?We hope at least seven more SP MPs will help us on the day of voting,?? senior BSP leader Ambeth Rajan told FE.
The Left camp was also confident of ?breaking? the government. ?The deal and the government will be doomed,? CPI(M)?s Prakash Karat said. RLD supremo Ajit Singh and JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda also said that their MPs will vote against the Centre.