With no signs of any breakthrough in the stand-off with the Left parties on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday night pitched herself into discussions with UPA constituents who disfavoured early elections.

Top leaders of the UPA constituents, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, RJD's Lalu Prasad and LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan, discussed efforts to resolve the stalemate , two days ahead of the Left-UPA meeting.

While the Left parties ruled out any change in the stand of total opposition to the deal, Samajwadi Party, which is reported to have assured Congress of support, dismissed such reports as "kite flying".

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat met Pawar after the NCP chief's meeting with Gandhi and discussed the current situation.

Left sources maintained that if the government moved the IAEA Board of Governors, it would amount to a violation of the agreement reached at the meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on November 16 last year. They reiterated their threat to break away from UPA if the next step was made on the issue, saying their position was non-negotiable.

The sources discounted the possibility of a middle path at this moment to resolve the impasse. They feel the government was probably in some sort of compulsion or hurry to secure a breakthrough before the Prime Minister meets US President George W Bush on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Japan in the first week of July.

With External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee away in Australia and the government keen on going to IAEA, Gandhi consulted leaders of UPA constituent parties.

"This is not the time for polls. This is the time to deal with issues like inflation," Prasad told reporters, adding discussions will have to be conducted keeping in mind the "interest of the nation". After his meetings with Gandhi and Karat, Pawar said "I am confident that through dialogue some way out will be found."

Asked whether the nuclear deal was worth losing a partner like the Left parties, he said "we have not reached that stage yet." The NCP chief also sought to dismiss suggestions of early elections.

On his meeting with Gandhi, Pawar said he discussed the overall thinking on the nuclear deal and "tried to understand the situation" as he would not be present for the UPA-Left meeting on Wednesday.

Paswan emphasised that the government was in no danger and suggested that the stand-off between the Congress and Left could be ended.

"The government is not falling, this much I can tell you," the LJP chief said after meeting Gandhi. "The government will remain and we all will remain together. Left parties will also be with us," Paswan said, adding "there is no issue in the world that cannot be resolved through talks."

Mulayam speak

Samajwadi Party kept its cards close to the chest on its stand on supporting the Congress saying a meeting of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) will be convened soon to discuss the nuclear deal issue.

"We are in touch with leaders of UNPA allies and a date will be fixed soon according to the convenience of all including SP general secretary Amar Singh who is abroad," SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav said.

Yadav's trusted lieutenant Amar Singh described as "kite flying" reports that his party would support the UPA government in case of a trial of strength. He said his party could not change the stand on the nuclear deal all of a sudden.

Singh also did not feel that the government would not fall as both the Left and the UPA would reach a compromise as had happened in the past.