Ready for mid-term poll: Sonia

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today struck a defiant note over talk of an imminent mid-term poll. At an iftar get-together at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence, she said, "If there are polls, we will face it."

While the prime minister put a brave face on the differences between his government and the Left on the Indo-US nuclear deal by saying there was nothing "inevitable" about a mid-term poll, it was a solitary effort. He added till talks were on with the Left, "there was hope" for the government.

However, members of his Cabinet and party colleagues said it was only a matter of time. "We were very firm with the Left yesterday and informed them that negotiations on the IAEA safeguards agreement would be initiated and the deal would be pursued," said a senior Cabinet minister.

"The Left cannot back down after raising the pitch on the issue and we also cannot back out from an international agreement," he added. "The Left has been vacillating on the kind of pressure they want to put on the government. First, they said stall it for six months, and now, they are talking about the winter session of Parliament," added the minister.

One minister admitted he was racing through his pet projects. "This will form a part of my campaign in case there is a poll," said the minister, who heads a social sector ministry.

Various assessments were being made on the timing of the poll, the most popular period being April-May 2008.

Significantly, the only Left leader to have made it to the iftar was CPI(M) MP Sitaram Yechury.