The Indian parliament will hold a vote of confidence in the Congress party-led government that could decide the fate of a nuclear deal with the US.It comes after the government's left-wing allies withdrew their support in protest against the controversial civilian nuclear accord.Observers expect that the vote following the debate will be close.If the government loses the vote, India faces early elections and the nuclear deal would be under threat.The vote will follow a two-day debate on the nuclear deal in the parliament.The BBC's Chris Morris in Delhi says the momentum appeared to be with the government as the second day of parliamentary debate began, but it is extremely close.'Horse trading'Members of parliament have been summoned from their sick beds and even from prison cells to take part in the vote.Government has its nose ahead, headlined Hindustan Times newspaper.Thumbs up, fingers crossed, said The Indian Express on the front page with a picture of a smiling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flashing a victory sign.Where's The Party Tonight, said The Times of India newspaper"After several days of hard bargaining and aggressively chasing Opposition rebels, the numbers seemed to be eventually tilting in favour of the Manmohan Singh government," the newspaper said.Analyst Prem Shankar Jha said it was difficult to predict who will win the vote of confidence."So hectic has been the horse trading been that it is no longer possible to predict what will happen," he said.Prime Minister Singh has said the government will "prove its majority".Under the accord, India, which has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, would gain access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel.In return its civilian nuclear facilities would be opened to inspection. Nuclear weapons sites would remain off-limits. TIMETABLE FOR NUCLEAR ACCORD Approval needed from IAEA, expected to meet on 1 AugustConsent also required from 45-member Nuclear Suppliers GroupCongress to approve deal before President Bush signs it into lawAll this to happen before Mr Bush's tenure expires on 3 January 2009 The communists fear the accord could give the US too much influence over Indian foreign and nuclear policy.With the left withdrawing support, the government can rely on only 226 members in the 543-seat parliament, and needs 46 more to be absolutely sure of a majority.Congress has 153 MPs. The biggest opposition party, the Hindu-nationalist BJP, has 130.The Congress party hopes it will get the backing of the regional Samajwadi party and other smaller parties to help it win.India's media is awash with reports of alleged defections and desertions among MPs ahead of the vote.India is under pressure from Washington to sign the accord before the US presidential election in November.Last week, Indian officials met members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world nuclear regulatory body, in Vienna to discuss plans to safeguard India's civilian nuclear facilities.The IAEA's approval of the plan is a key condition for enacting the deal.If the IAEA signs the agreement, the deal will go to the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which regulates global civilian nuclear trade, for approval.It must then by approved by the US Congress before President Bush can sign it into law.Critics of the deal fear assistance to India's civil programme could free-up additional radioactive material for bomb-making purposes.
