Much as the two top Congress and UPA leaders might remain firm in their commitment to push forward the contentious nuclear deal despite the Left partners’ categorical threat of dissociating themselves from the ruling coalition, the going is getting tougher still.

The Congress’ UPA allies, who have firmly backed the Congress on the nuclear deal till the other day, have suddenly begun to develop cold feet as they are not ready to face the consequence of a snap Lok Sabha poll that would follow from the Left’s dissociation. If it is a question of choosing between the nuclear deal and saving the government, as the Left has made it, the Congress’ UPA allies seem to distinctly prefer the latter. UPA allies are understood to be conveying the same to both Sonia and Singh, one by one. While Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad and DMK chief have already made their views against forcing a snap poll clear to both, even smaller UPA constituents are conveying their opposition to forcing an election. On Tuesday, PMK chief Ramadoss is learnt to have told Singh something like this: “I would like you to complete five years as Prime Minister.”

Probably, the pressure is beginning to tell upon Sonia and Singh. At Tuesday’s meeting of the UPA-Left panel to sort out the nuclear stand off, the Congress leaders attending the meeting agreed for the first time that they would not hold formal negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency until October 22, the next date for the panel’s meeting. As of now, it is an assurance only for two weeks. But Left leaders have read in it the first signs of blinking on part of the Congress leadership. Apparently, this flexibility on the Congress’ part came also in the backdrop an internal political assessment that a snap poll at this stage might not be necessarily to the party’s advantage.

However, it is widely believed in the UPA and Left circles that Sonia and Singh were yet to make up their mind if they should go ahead or pause for a while on the N-deal. “As of now, both appear to be adamant about going ahead with the deal; but there is intense pressure on them to reconsider their position,” said a leader from one of the allied parties. Apparently, the pro-deal disposition is backed by other Congress leaders like Finance Minister Chidambaram, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath.