New Delhi, May 26: The Congress party’s poor showing in Karnataka, Left circles feel, is likely to bury rather than resurrect the contentious Indo-US nuclear deal but the question of a fuel price hike could become the next major flashpoint in the strained relations between the Manmohan Singh government and the Left parties.

The first indication of a renewed “go-slow” on the nuclear deal came today with the formal decision to postpone the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting that was to take place on May 28. No fresh date has been proposed so far. It was the government and not the Left which decided to postpone Wednesday’s meeting citing the absence of some ministers in the capital on that day.

In light of the periodic statements from Washington that “time is running out” for the deal, the postponement could mean that the government, too, is losing hope about meeting the timelines set out by the negotiators. Conversely, it is possible that the pro-deal lobby is still hopeful of persuading the Congress leadership to go ahead with the agreement and is playing for more time before another round of predictable negotiations with the Left.

The Left is not particularly concerned about the government’s intentions about the deal because, as one top leader put it, “our position has not changed an iota and the government is well aware of it.” The Bengal panchayat election results may have proved a big setback for the CPM but that is regarded as an “internal challenge” which will have no bearing on the party’s ideological position on national and international issues.

The Congress defeat in Karnataka, on the other hand, is likely to have a much bigger impact. For one, Sonia Gandhi — known to be “risk averse” at the best of times — will be even less inclined to risk a breach with the Left at a time when the BJP is on the rise. Besides, the party — as opposed to the Prime Minister — has done little to defend the deal in public and in its current demoralised state will find it difficult to counter the Left’s charge of “surrender to US imperialism” if elections were to be held on the issue.

But even if the nuclear deal is once again consigned to the backburner, the UPA-Left relations could enter a turbulent phase in the coming days over the issue of inflation, sources said.

Addressing a media conference after the Left parties’ meeting here on May 23, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat had said any hike in fuel prices was “unacceptable”. That was not an empty threat and Left leaders have begun preparing ground for a major “confrontation” in case the Union cabinet decides to hike the price of petrol and diesel.

With the international price of crude oil touching $133 per barrel today, a hike is on the cards but the Left will be “unrelenting” in its opposition, sources said.

Left leaders plan to first talk to UPA allies such as the DMK, RJD, and the NCP to underline that any hike at this stage will be “suicidal” for the government — a veiled warning that it could even lead to withdrawal of support to the government.

The government’s plea that a price hike is unavoidable in view of the international situation has cut no ice with the Left. The Left’s “report card” on four years of UPA rule noted that “the UPA government has ignored the demands to restructure the excise and customs duty regime on crude oil and petro products. This is the only durable solution in an era of high international oil prices.” That theme is going to get louder in the coming days.

GAS HIKE

Oil companies on Monday hiked the security deposit for new cooking gas connections from Rs 850 to Rs 1,250 a cylinder.

The SBI has announced a hike in medium to long-term fixed deposit rates by up to 0.50 per cent from June 1.