Although the Congress sought to allay frayed tempers in the Left camp by issuing a statement that the remarks were meant in the context of Haryana and were not targeted at the Left, the message was unmistakable: if the Left wanted election, so be it.

Not to leave any doubt, some senior Congress leaders and strategists even raised the possibility of running a minority government at the Centre arguing that most of the political parties did not want an election. They even claimed that even if the Left voted against the UPA, others would pitch in by either supporting or abstaining. Brinkmanship apart, despite the sharp differences between them, both sides are trying to indicate a last-minute thaw for the simple reason that neither wants to be held responsible for foisting elections. Much of this, sources said, has to do with the fact that neither the Congress nor the Left wants to annoy UPA constituents, many of whom want to avoid early polls.