Indian political parties hold hectic talks as trust vote nears

Jul 19, 2008, 13:23 GMT

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.