From correspondents in Delhi, India, 03:01 PM IST

Whatever his public posture may be, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, in closed-door meetings with the Left, has laid bare his real compulsions for supporting the Congress.

Haunted by the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) victories in Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh is clutching at the Congress as his last straw of hope to shore up his own party's strength.

All the talk about the nuclear deal was just a camouflage, Mulayam has apparently admitted to the Left. 'Mulayam has told us in private that the BSP would finish them if he did not ally with the Congress. The nuclear deal was never an issue for him,' said a Left leader.

The irony in all this is the Congress is a much weaker force than the Samjawadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)