At a time when every MP secured is being seen as one giant step forward towards saving the government and the nuclear deal — or the other way around, looking through the Opposition’s eyes — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s conversation with JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda brought more than a flicker of hope to the UPA. Deve Gowda is set to meet Singh tomorrow.

While two JD(S) MPs are significant in terms of numbers for a precariously placed UPA, Gowda’s decision, Congress leaders claim, would have a “positive cascading” effect on the other fence-sitters — about a dozen of them including JMM, RLD, MNF, and Independents.

The Congress is also in touch with JMM chief Shibu Soren. While the ruling camp is learnt to have agreed to give him a Cabinet berth, sources said he was adamant on getting an additional portfolio of a Minister of State for his party.

The Samajwadi Party, the most vulnerable bloc in the alliance, is working hard to keep its flock together. At its meeting today, 10 of the 39 MPs, which included Beni Prasad Verma, Raj Babbar, Atiq Ahmed, Afzal Ansari, Saleem Sherwani, Usha Verma, S Bangarappa, Jaiprakash, Rajnarain Budhaulia, and Munawwar Hasan, were absent. But party leaders played down these abstentions and claimed that only three ¿ Hasan, Jaiprakash, and Budhaulia — were likely to defy the party whip. “We do not bother about these people going away. We have managed more people than these from major parties,” said SP General Secretary Amar Singh after the meeting.

The Congress Core Group that met at the PM’s residence today was said to have discussed available numbers and potential additions. Until late tonight, the UPA had the assured support of 257 MPs, excluding the JMM and the RLD who, the ruling camp claimed, were set to come on board eventually.

Earlier in the day, PMK MP E Ponnuswamy strongly denied speculation about any difference of opinion with his party over this issue. “I refute it. I have been loyal to the party leader for 50 years,” he said. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said all the six party MPs would vote for the government.

Meanwhile, Congress MP from Karnal Arvind Sharma’s diatribe against the party today for allying with the SP and for targeting BSP chief Mayawati came as a rude jolt to Congress crisis managers, who were already getting reports about party MPs in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab being wooed by the Opposition. AICC General Secretary in charge of UP Digvijay Singh had to rush to Lucknow to keep the flock together. Congress President Sonia Gandhi will meet party MPs from different states in batches on Saturday.

What has bolstered the morale in the ruling camp is the uneasiness betrayed by many MPs in the Opposition camp as well. Four Shiv Sena MPs whose constituencies had been redrawn in the recent delimitation exercise were learnt to have approached Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi early this week. “Nothing is final yet, though,” said a Congress source as the Sena is scheduled to meet tomorrow.

The ruling camp also claimed to be negotiating with three BJP MPs from Madhya Pradesh and three Akali Dal MPs from Punjab. Some BJP MPs having differences with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi are also in touch with the Congress, claimed party sources.

Meanwhile, Nagaland People’s Front MP WW Konyak told The Indian Express today that Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphieu Rio would come to New Delhi on Saturday to firm up the party’s line on the trust vote. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has been negotiating with the NPF to secure Konyak’s support. Both the BJP and the NCP are part of the government in Nagaland.