Political Whispers: The buzz from corridors of power

KINGMAKER? SP has made clear it is looking for a long-term alliance with Congress.

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New Delhi: Apart from keeping his flock together to save the Government, SP General Secretary Amar Singh is busy meeting top government officials and ministers. On Thursday, he spent an hour with Commerce Minister Kamal Nath. SP has made clear it is looking for a long-term alliance with the Congress as it wants the tie-up to continue beyond the Lok Sabha polls.

But there are some smaller parties preparing for a hard bargain on the confidence vote. RLD, which has three MPs in the Lok Sabha, is now in talks with JD(S) and TRS. The three parties together will have eight votes in the Lower House and with every MPs vote becoming important in case of a close finish, UPA's floor managers cannot afford to leave anything for a chance.

All the major players in India's only Muslim majority state, Jammu and Kashmir find anything objectionable in the nuclear deal. That creates a small headache for the Congress. It has to enter into a post-poll arrangement with either the National Conference or the People's Democratic Party but till the votes are cast for the 15th Lok Sabha, it will have to keep both happy.