Mulayam meets PM; speculations on SP joining Govt rise

New Delhi, Jul 26 (UNI) Giving credence to speculations that the Samajwadi Party may join the UPA government shortly, party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today.

Mr Mulayam's lieutenant and SP general secretary Amar Singh was with him during the meeting.

SP has denied that the meeting had anything to do with joining the government. But the meeting comes a day after the UP Congress admitted that it wanted to contest only 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state and may leave the rest for the SP as a seat sharing arrangement.

Mr Amar has gone on record to say that the issue of joining the government was yet to be discussed at a formal meeting of the party. But at the same time he reminded the Congress that being one of the biggest parties extending outside support to the government, it would like Dr Singh and his officials to consult it on the issues related to reform.

Despite expelling six MPs for cross voting against the government on the July 22 trust vote, it still has 33 MPs and could play a crucial role in the decision making of the 50-month-old UPA government in coming months.

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