India's governing Congress Party was on the verge of swapping allies Friday in a last-ditch effort to push through a controversial nuclear deal with the United States.
The Congress Party was on the brink of replacing its leftist allies, led by the Communist Party, with a coalition led by the Samajwadi, a North Indian socialist party. The Congress Party's grip on India is weakening as inflation and fuel prices rise and the economy slows. Securing an ally is crucial to staying in power.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been a staunch supporter of the nuclear agreement with the United States, has been rushing to firm up support for the deal in India ahead of the Group of 8 summit meeting in Japan, which starts Monday.
There, he is expected to meet with President Bush to discuss the arrangement, which would grant India access to American nuclear technology and atomic fuel in exchange for agreeing to international inspections of its reactors.
Critics say the deal ties India's future foreign and energy policy too closely to the United States, but advocates say it could usher in a new era of nuclear power in India, freeing the country from heavy dependence on fossil fuels.
