They were coming straight from 7, Race Course Road where they had gone to pledge support to the nuclear deal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Three hours later, a smug Congress spokesperson, Shakeel Ahmed, appreciated the gesture with a couplet by Bashir Badr: “Dushmani jam kar karo lekin itni gunjayeesh rahe, ki jab kabhi ham doshta ban jayen to sharminda na hon. (Be enemies but always leave some room so that when we become friends again we are not embarrassed).”

While both sides remained tight-lipped about the details of the “deal” over the deal, Congress sources said it was limited to the affirmation of a tie-up between the two parties in Uttar Pradesh. With Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati turning on the heat on SP leaders on their home turf, the SP apparently did not have much bargaining power.

“We have been opposing it (the nuclear deal) as we did not have new facts (to allay our apprehensions) regarding the deal. But now these new details have come,” Yadav told reporters emerging from his meeting with the Prime Minister.

He added that “the entire nation would be satisfied” with the clarification given by the PMO in a statement last Wednesday. Yadav also expressed hope that even his UNPA colleagues would agree that national interest held higher priority for him than political interest. “The entire country would have been satisfied. I hope even our UNPA colleagues would agree,” said the SP chief in response to a question whether UNPA would support the deal along with him.

The green signal by the SP, whose 39 Lok Sabha MPs could be crucial to the government in the event of a trial of strength in Parliament, today came as a big relief for the Congress-led UPA government the Left began the countdown to pullout. According to Congress sources, the SP evinced no interest in joining the government at the Centre.

Amar Singh also told reporters that there was a “nefarious propaganda” against the SP about its joining the government. “We are not wheeler-dealers on a matter of national interest. We are not joining the Cabinet. We are also not putting any conditions. Our move is in the national interest,” said Singh who later attended the function to celebrate the US National Day organised by Ambassador David Mulford.

“Their main concern was to ally with the Congress in UP and we are ready for seat-sharing arrangements in the next Lok Sabha election. The quantum of this arrangement will be worked out later,” said a senior Congress leader.

Sources also added that the ruling party at the Centre did not offer any help “whatsoever” to the SP leadership so far as the cases against Singh and Yadav were concerned. The SP, which had earlier joined the Left parties to organise agitations against the nuclear deal, apparently re-calibrated its approach given the political compulsions on the home turf.

Following National Security Advisor M K Narayanan’s briefing to SP leaders on the nuclear deal on Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement allaying their apprehensions. On Thursday SP leaders called former President APJ Abdul Kalam to seek his views on the nuclear deal, which set the stage for the rapprochement between the SP and the Congress.

Emerging from their meetings, both Yadav and Singh maintained they had not given any commitment to the Prime Minister about extending support. The Congress, however, maintained that the SP had expressed support for the deal at 7, RCR.

Thanking the SP for supporting the deal, AICC media cell chairperson Veerappa Moily told reporters here that Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh had “expressed support to the nuclear deal “during their meeting with the PM” and “reiterated the support” during their meeting with Gandhi.

“And we are thankful to the Samajwadi Party. They have acted in the best interest of the nation. Their help has been very timely,” said Moily. According to Congress sources, the SP fell short of going public with its support for the deal because it had to complete the “formality” of informing other UNPA partners about its talks with the PM and the Congress President.