New Delhi, July 21: Monitored by Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and key allies, the UPA has mounted a multi-pronged drive to reach out to prospective “absentees” who can help the government survive the trust vote.

The Prime Minister set the ball rolling to net the “extra” support. Seeking a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha, the economist spoke rather uncharacteristically in Gurmukhi, his mother tongue, quoting the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh to drive home the point that his government was set to win the vote of confidence.

“Deh Shiva var mohe, Shubh karman se kabhoon na taroon kabhoon na daroon, Jab jaye laroon, Nishchay kar apni jeet karoon aru Sikh ho apne hi mun ko eh lalach ho gun to uchro jab aav ki audh nidan baney ati hi ran main to jujh maro” ( Lord, grant me this boon, that I may never avoid doing a good deed. Never shall I fear the enemy when I go into the battlefield and always ensure my victory. That I may teach myself this greed alone, to learn only Thy praises. And when the last days of my life come, I may die in the might of the battlefield),” Manmohan quoted the warrior Guru.

In Congress circles, Manmohan’s choice of a hymn to culminate his introductory speech was seen as a deft move aimed at winning over eight Akali Dal MPs who have officially been committed to vote against him. The Congress is hoping that at least half of the Akali MPs will abstain.

Another uncharacteristic gesture: as soon as he stepped out of the car, the Prime Minister showed the victory and thumbs-up signs. Also, for the first time in his tenure, Manmohan came out thrice to interact with the media.

Sources said the Prime Minister is so confident that he has drawn up plans to send emissaries such as Shyam Saran, Kapil Sibal, M.K. Narayanan and Prithviraj Chavan to Nuclear Suppliers Group countries to lobby for the nuclear deal.

But long knives usually come out on the night before D-Day. That nothing can be taken for granted — by either side — became evident when former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who was yesterday seen with Mayavati, betrayed signs of second thoughts. Congress sources claimed they were in touch with him but would not say how Gowda’s three MPs would vote tomorrow.

Throughout the day, Sonia was seen meeting MPs. In between attending the House and attentively listening to Manmohan, Mukherjee and L.K. Advani, she was seen speaking on the phone in the lobby. At times, the conversation was so long that she was seen leaning on the wall.

She was apparently in constant touch with Rashid Alvi, a former BSP leader who is now with the Congress. Alvi is said to be working his “old connections” in the BSP to try for a few abstentions but it was not clear if his mission met with any success.

Sources said that apart from the strength of numbers that Mukherjee articulated in his speech, the Congress managers were working on “Plan B” that envisages significant abstentions from the BJP, Shiv Sena, BJD and others numbering around 18.

According to Mukherjee’s party-wise break-up, the government had the support of 276 MPs even after the withdrawal of support by the Left.

In Parliament’s central hall, a crucible of gossip and rumour, there was near-consensus that the Manmohan regime would scrape through.

MPs and politicians cutting across party lines were heard referring to Advani’s “lacklustre” speech and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra’s plea to extend the trust debate by another day, which were interpreted as signs of the Opposition’s weakness.

However, a small group of MPs said Mayavati alone could turn the tables if she managed to wean away more than a dozen Samajwadi and Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party’s Saleem Iqbal Sherwani claimed that two dissident MPs from his party had returned. “Earlier, we were counting 33 out of 39 MPs. But tomorrow, we will have the support of 35,” he said, but refused to name those who have “returned”.