Saturday night expected to be 'feverish' for Capital

New Delhi, Jul 17 (UNI) As the UPA's crisis managers are on their toes mustering suppport for their beleaguered government, parties in the rival camp too have intensified their 'defeat the government' campaign and coming Saturday the political activities are expected to reach a feverish pitch.

Telugu Desam Party chief Chandra Babu Naidu is arriving here on Saturday to meet the BSP supremo, Left leaders and chiefs of other parties like the RLD, JD(S) and other to mobilise opposition to the Government over the Nuclear Deal.

Besides the Left, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Ms Mayawati is also emerging as the centre of opposition to the deal.

''The immediate aim of meeting Ms Mayawati is to strengthen the anti-deal camp. The issue of any alliance with the party for coming polls may come later,'' a senior TDP office-bearer told UNI, when asked whether Mr Naidu would formally propose to BSP to join the UNPA.

Though BSP sources have indicated to UNI that Ms Mayawati was not very much keen on joining any alliances through the UNPA, the TDP and other constituents of the alliance would be keen to rope in the BSP to fill the gap left by what they call 'desertion' of the Samajwadi Party (SP), which has now alied itself with the Congress on the issue of the Nuclear Deal.

The loss of the SP, which is a key political player in Uttar Pradesh, can only be compensated by the BSP, the ruling party in the state.

The TDP and the Left also know that if the UNPA is to develop into a credible third political alternative, or if any another Third Front is to be formed at the national level, absence of a strong Uttar Pradesh presence would make it a non-starter Besides, the BSP leader, Mr Naidu will also have meeting with leaders of a number of parties like Deve Gowda Left leader AB Bardhan today had a meeting with RLD chief Ajit Singh, whose party has three MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Besides, Mr Singh is meeting TRS leader K Chandrasekhara Rao at dinner tomorrow at his (Mr Sigh's) residence, sources said.

Mr Rao, whose party has three MPs, is already in talks with the BSP, is expected to be in the capital on Saturday when the TDP leader will be here to meet Ms Mayawati.

The UPA is going to seek a trust vote in Parliament at a special two-day sesion starting July 21.

The vote was necessitated by the decision of their alies Left parties to withdraw support from the Government after the latter decided to go to the IAEA for the safeguards agreement, which the communists said would mean operationalisation of the deal.

However, the UPA Government found a ready ally in the SP which has 39 MPs in the Lok Sabha. The SP too found the Congress offer of friendship very heartening at a time when it was under increasing pressure by its arch rival BSP in Uttar Pradesh.

The UPA Government needs 272 to win in a House of 543. According to poliical observers and reports, there are still 20 undecided MPs who were giving worries to the ruling Congress.

UNI NAZ PY UCS2057