As the Congress camp, too, took these numbers for granted, invitations were sent to the SP MPs for the July 20 dinner being hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the eve of the special session of the Lok Sabha.

At the SP meeting, however, as many as 10 MPs — Beni Prasad Verma, Raj Babbar, Atiq Ahmed, Afzal Ansari, Saleem Sherwani, Usha Verma, S Bangarappa, Jaiprakash, Rajnarain Budhaulia and Munawwar Hasan — were absent.

Party leaders played it down and claimed that only three MPs — Munawwar Hasan, Jaiprakash and Rajnarain Budhaulia — were likely to defy the party whip during the trust motion. “We do not bother about these people going away,” said SP general secretary Amar Singh after the meeting.

The SP leaders said though Beni Prasad Verma and Raj Babbar were suspended from the party, they would be voting for the Government. Saleem Sherwani and Usha Verma could not attend the meeting due to personal reasons. While Atiq Ahmed and Afzal Ansari were in jail, S Bangarappa was on his way but could not make it to the meet, they added.

During the meeting, party chief Mulayam Singh explained the reason for SP’s support to the Congress-led Government. He is learnt to have termed Mayawati’s aggression against his party as one of the crucial reasons for closing ranks with the Congress. He also told the MPs that the deal was in the national interest.

Apart from Mulayam, SP leaders Amar Singh and Ram Gopal Yadav, who were briefed by the National Security Advisor on the nuclear deal on July 2, informed the MPs about the reasons behind supporting the deal. They are learnt to have assured the MPs that the support to the Government was in the party’s interest as well.

Mohan Singh, the senior party MP in Lok Sabha, urged the MPs to “honour Mulayam’s commitment” of supporting the Government. Ramjilal Suman, another senior MP, urged the party to continue raising the issue of inflation in Parliament as it affected the common man.

Soon after the meeting, Mulayam and Amar visited the Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid to apprise him of his party’s decision. The Imam is learnt to have told the SP leaders that the deal could not be “for or against” the Muslims of the country.