Lucknow: The demand to withdraw support to UPA II went up within the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday as a shutdown called by it evoked near complete response in many parts of the state.

The SP had earlier put off its parliamentary board meeting as it wanted to gauge the “mood of the nation” against the central government decisions to allow FDI in multi-brand retail trade and hike diesel prices.

The party’s rank and file seem to feel that any support to the Congress could spike its electoral fortunes.

Enough indications trickled from the top brass of the SP that it was no longer keen to be seen on the same side of the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance.

Close aides of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said he was holding talks with senior party colleagues. An aide said the channel of communication opened between the Congress and the SP was on hold for now.

Many SP leaders like Bhagwati Singh, Mohan Singh, Shivpal Yadav, Ahmad Hassan and Mohd Azam Khan have reportedly asked Mulayam Singh not to be swayed by Congress’ sweet talk or political blackmail.

“It is very clear that UPA II is now on ventilator, why should we be seen siding with a sinking ship?” a senior UP minister told IANS.

SP stalwart Ram Gopal Yadav says the Congress should understand the anger among the people.

He also demanded a roll back of last week’s decisions, including a hike in diesel prices and a cap on the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to consumers. “The Congress government is tottering and it should be flexible,” Mulayam Singh told a group of leaders who met him in New Delhi on Thursday. The SP is understood to be miffed over reports that the Congress was trying to strike a deal with its arch rival, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

A section of SP leaders, including the young brigade led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, are learnt to be of the view that siding with the Congress now could prove suicidal.

Akhilesh Yadav recently told IANS that his party was ready for early Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, India’s principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday ruled out the possibility of revival of the defunct Third Front.

“Third Front is history now. This country will be lead either by the Congress (party) or the BJP,” senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav along with the Left Front is currently at the forefront to persuade smaller and regional parties not aligned to either of the two major parties to come forward and form the Third Front.

While the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has been in power since 2004, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruled the country for six years prior to that.

“People have watched the UPA government for the past eight years. I have no doubt that the BJP-led front would form the government next time,” Prasad said.

India is slated to go to polls in April-May 2014.

The speculation that the Third Front could form the next government was started by the veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, who in his blog said that neither the Congress nor the BJP would have enough numbers after the next general elections to form the new government.

Third Front, under the banner of United Front, ruled the country with outside support of the Congress party between 1996 and 1998 before it got disintegrated. The last serious effort to revive it was made on the eve of 2009 general election by Mulayam and Left Front which did not meet with any success.

Mulayam, who was the defence minister in the two United Front governments headed by H.D. Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral, now fancies his chances of becoming the next prime minister and is eyeing alliances with parties like the Telugu Desam Party, Biju Janata Dal, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and several other smaller parties to present to the voters a third alternative.