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Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Monday made his third trip to Lucknow in the past three days to reassure Bharatiya Janata Party dissidents disheartened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi's reluctance to support efforts to topple the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party-BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.
"As many as 18 BJP dissidents met me today," he claimed, but refused to divulge their names.
He chose to remain evasive about SP chief Mulayam Singh's meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, along with Communist Party-Marxist leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet, had called on Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Sunday seeking support for their initiative.
However, in reply to repeated queries, Singh said, "The meeting was very cordial and I am confident that in the larger interest of the country, Sonia Gandhi will take a decision to support us in this mission (to form the government in UP)."
Sonia's non-committal stance has dampened the spirits of disgruntled BJP MLAs and even the independents who until Sunday night were spewing fire appeared somewhat demoralised.
Even though the Congress has only 25 members in the 403-member state assembly, its support is crucial if the Samajwadi Party with 142 MLAs is to cobble up a simple majority.
However, no alternative government would be possible without Congress support. And not many would dare to be defiant until they are certain they would not have to face a snap poll in the absence of an alternative government, admitted a senior BJP leader unhappy with the 'arbitrary and dictatorial ways' of Chief Minister Mayawati.
With the BJP strength being 88, the dissidents require at least 29 MLAs to split the party.
Mayawati and Lalji Tandon, however, are confident about the government's survival.
"We have a comfortable majority and there is no danger to our government," Tandon asserted while Mayawati threw the gauntlet at the Samajwadi Party saying, "Let Mulayam Singh Yadav try his best, my government will stay on."
However, the BJP dissidents do not seem ready to give up yet. They are gunning for Minister for Housing and Urban Development and BJP legislature party leader Lalji Tandon, who is close to both Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mayawati.
Leader of the dissidents Ganga Bhakt Singh on Monday accused Tandon of preventing Prime Minister Vajpayee from meeting disgruntled MLAs during his recent visit to Lucknow.
The dissidents had last week got a shot in the arm when eight of the 14 independent legislators formally withdrew support to the ruling coalition.
But no sooner did the BJP dissidents make public appearances with these independents, the party leadership decided to crack the whip.
Ganga Bhakt Singh was suspended from the party on Sunday after being seen on television channels hobnobbing with Amar Singh.
The BJP has 88 members in the state assembly, the BSP 99. Their coalition government is supported by smaller parties and some independents.
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