Trust vote headed for close finish

The government suffered a setback when two small groups - JD (S) and RLD with six MPs in all - on Sunday decided to vote against the trust vote, leaving the ruling coalition at the mercy of independents and single-member groups.

As of now in a house with an effective strength of 541 minus Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, the ruling coalition has the committed support of 260 and the Opposition block 268. However, other calculations put the figure for the government at 265 and 267 against with nine undecided.

The remaining 12, including two from National Conference, one each of Trinamool Congress, MNF and MPF and six independents and a suspended BJP MP hold the key to government survival apart from surprises like cross voting and abstentions.

The opposition to the Manmohan Singh government gained further momentum with the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Left parties jointly declaring their resolve to go for the kill.

Emerging as the key player in the political drama unfolding ahead of trust vote, BSP chief Mayawati Sunday said the Opposition camp had the “numbers” to topple the Manmohan Singh government.