New Delhi - Political parties held hectic talks and strategy
sessions in the Indian capital Saturday with the trust vote to be
faced by the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on
Tuesday most likely to be a close call.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's minority government was forced to
call for a confidence motion in parliament after left party allies
withdrew their support over a controversial civilian nuclear deal
with the United States.
The UPA needs to muster a strength of 272 in a 545 member house to
win a simple majority and remain in power. The Lok Sabha, or India's
lower house of parliament, is scheduled to convene on Monday for a
debate and the vote is scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress Party, the leading member
of the UPA, met scores of party lawmakers at her New Delhi residence,
on Saturday, while the left parties led by the Communist Party of
India-Marxist held a strategy session of its leaders.
The Left parties have a meeting with regional parties and smaller
groups poised to vote against the UPA at a meeting on Sunday.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was making special
medical arrangements to fly in ailing lawmakers like Harishchandra
Chavan, who met with an accident recently and is being treated at a
hospital in western Maharashtra state, IANS news agency reported.
Veteran Bollywood star Dharmendra, recuperating in the US after
knee surgery, has also been asked by the BJP leadership to fly back.
The party is also making arrangements to fly to Delhi a lawmaker
from Gujarat state, Mahesh Kanodia, who recently underwent heart
surgery.
The numbers game looks really close and newspapers and television
channels are predicting neck-and-neck tallies that keep changing by a
couple of votes.
None of the parties are taking any chances and are gathering their
flocks together amid rumours of lawmakers being promised ministerial
berths, tickets in the next election any huge amounts of money to go
against party whips or even abstain.
BJP's prime ministerial candidate and leader of the opposition LK
Advani is scheduled to host a dinner for lawmakers of the opposition
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition on Sunday night.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, too will be hosting a dinner for
lawmakers of his alliance on the eve of the special session of
parliament.
The UPA government is scheduled to complete its five-year term in
May 2009, but a defeat could mean early elections, perhaps in
November-December, or a new coalition government.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story