Bardhan tries to persuade indecisive Ajit Singh over July 22 trust vote

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan met Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh at the latters residence in the Capital today in a bid to persuade him to oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal and vote against the UPA Governments trust vote on July 21-22.

New Delhi, July 17 : CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan met Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh at the latter's residence in the Capital today in a bid to persuade him to oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal and vote against the UPA Government's trust vote on July 21-22.

Ajit Singh's party has three members in the Lok Sabha, who might prove crucial during the trust vote, which would see the survival or fall of the Manmohan Singh's Government.

Though, after the meeting the two leaders said that their "minds could not meet", Ajit Singh is expected to support the nuclear deal.

"We met today to discuss the Indo-US nuclear deal. While our stand over the deal is clear and known to all, Ajit Singh is yet to take a decision whether to support or oppose the trust vote. I leave it up to him," Bardhan told reporters after the meeting.

During the meeting, Bardhan is believed to have explained Left's stand on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal after they withdrew their support to the UPA Government.

The Left parties have already held talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Congress has already approached the RLD, but Singh said he would take decision not in hurry.

ANI