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.

... contd.