Having said no, SP does a rethink on joining Govt

The change in SP’s position came after Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday afternoon, when they are learnt to have discussed relations between the SP and Government. In fact, the Prime Minister is learnt to have indicated that he is not averse to inducting SP leaders in the Cabinet.

However, there is no consensus within the SP itself on joining the Government given that the party has taken a public stand against it. “There has not been any inner party consultation on this issue,” a senior party MP told The Indian Express.

“Having publicly denounced it, entering the Government will surely create an embarrassment for the party, which can be exploited by the BSP in the state,” pointed another MP from the party hoping that the party chief will consult them before taking a final decision.

While the SP’s earlier stand of remaining outside the Government was motivated by its fear of losing public credibility in the wake of a turnaround of its position on the nuclear deal as it would have been accused of entering into a material bargain for saving the Government, the inclination to join the Government now appears to be an attempt by the SP leadership to keep its flock together.

“The party has to also keep in mind party’s interests. Joining the Government will only help to boost the morale of our party cadre in UP where the BSP is trying hard to squeeze us in a brutal fashion,” said another SP MP, finding no fault in joining the Government.

The SP leadership is aware that while it could control the dent in SP ranks to barely six before the trust vote, the numbers could go up given the disgruntlement within party ranks.