Cong leaders mull possible scenarios to stay in power

A meeting of Cong core group, attended by PM and Sonia, discussed possible scenarios in event of Left withdrawing support.

A meeting of the core group of Congress attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday discussed the possible scenarios in Parliament in the event of Left parties withdrawing support to the UPA government on the Indo-US nuclear deal issue and the need for numbers from other sources.

Reliable sources said the government was keen on going ahead with the deal and it was for the Congress and UPA leaderships to take a political call on taking the plunge.

They said Congress is wooing 39 members of Samajwadi Party along with a few small groups, some independents which will help it retain majority in the Lok Sabha in which case early polls are not required. The Left parties have 59 members in Lok Sabha.

Story continues below this ad

In the Lok Sabha, which has an effective strength of 543, the UPA has 220 members– more than 50 short of simple majority.

The sources said the meeting discussed the possible scenarios in case of a trial of strength in Parliament and the need to tap new political friends to sail through.

The sources described as “baseless” reports that the Prime Minister had threatened to resign and would not go to Japan to attend the G-8 summit there next month.

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

Unprecedented rain submerges Kolkata amidst Durga Puja preparations; train services hit

Cities41 min ago

At least two people were killed as Kolkata woke up to an inundated city on Tuesday morning after heavy overnight rainfall flooded streets, railway tracks, and Metro tracks. The downpour, which began late Monday night and continued past midnight, led to severe waterlogging across major arterial roads and residential areas, paralysing normal life.

View all shorts

Live Blog