Numbers game gets tougher for ruling coalition

New Delhi: The ruling Congress party received a jolt with four lawmakers it had been counting on for support during Tuesday's trust vote announcing they would vote against the government.

The dwindling number of members ready to back the ruling coalition in the Lower House of parliament has put a big question mark over its survival in power.

Hectic political activity is expected to play out as the government gets desperateto clear the floor test. A mini-expansion of the cabinet is anticipated as one way of sealing the support of some regional parties.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which has five lawmakers, has been approached with the offer of a cabinet berth for its president Shibu Soren.

A similar offer is believed to have been made to Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, whose party has three lawmakers.

Two Congress lawmakers from Haryana yesterday announced they would not vote for the government. Arvind Sharma, the MP from Karnal, lambasted his party for its stand over the nuclear deal with the US and dropped hints that he would join the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Likewise, Kuldip Bishnoi, the MP from Bhiwani and the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, said he would vote against the ruling coalition.

Samajwadi Party MP from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Munawwar Hussain, also announced his decision to defy the party whip and vote against the government, while claiming at least six other party MPs would likely follow suit.

The government may also have to count out two rebel Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs with the party chief Vaiko submitting a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee that his party had issued a whip to vote against the trust motion.