As the ruling UPA burnt the midnight oil to rustle up the numbers ahead of the trust vote, senior coalition leaders met at External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s residence every evening till a day before the commencement of the short session to firm up their strategy. The meetings were kept a secret and not mentioned in the daily list of engagements of the ministers concerned. Incidentally, their meetings were held in the same room where the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal used to meet till the parting of ways.
