The possibility of Mayawati being prime ministerial candidate, in the event that UPA loses the trust vote, has gained ground  with the BSP chief scheduled to discuss “new equations”  with the CPM and CPI General Secretaries Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan respectively, on Sunday.

The meeting has been formally convened by the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) leader Chandra Babu Naidu, who has been in  touch with the left leaders ever since the nebulous United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) dissipated following Yadav’s exit.

Quizzed on whether he would accept Mayawati as prime minister, Naidu, after meeting her, said:  “Why should we be against it. We are not averse to it. But we have to discuss all these issues.” Naidu and Mayawati were together for more than one and half hours.

Fired with “prime ministerial prospects”  Mayawati is camping in the national Capital and has already held long telephonic talks with Bardhan and Karat, sources told Deccan Herald.

With Mayawati set to play a major role in the non-Congress and non-SP alliance, BSP has stepped up its attempt to wean way more SP MPs against the nuclear deal.

Setting off a panic situation in the SP camp, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Shahid Siddique  “changed his colours” and quit on Saturday to join BSP. Sitting beside the UP Chief Minister, Siddique, who until now was backing the UPA-government called the nuclear deal “anti-national”.

“He has invested in the BSP for a better return in the next Lok Sabha,” quipped a SP leader.  Interestingly Siddique had recently accompanied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his G-8 trip to Japan and was full praise for the Indo-US nuclear agreement.

Five SP MPs - Munawar Hasan, Raj Narain Budholiya, Jai Prakash, S P Baghel and Atique Ahmed - have more or less announced their decision to vote against the trust vote. Another five are “under cloud of suspicion” with Mayawati strategically positioning herself to poach them, sources said.