With the recent Congress defeat at the Karnataka Assembly elections, the prospects of the Indo-US nuclear deal just got a lot bleaker, not that they were very bright in the first place, considering the Left Front's vehement opposition to it.

However, latest developments indicate that the Left realises the Congress is on a sticky wicket at present and has lost no time in capitalising on that opportunity by forcing the government to postpone a crucial 28 May meeting.

It was at this UPA-Left coordination committee meeting where the latter was expected to appraise the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition of its stand on the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

No fresh date has been proposed so far, although 11 June has been tentatively mentioned. Tellingly, this date comes after the meeting of the IAEA board of governors from 2 June to 5 June where the safeguards agreement was supposed to be ratified.

This latest move is in complete agreement with the script of CPM and its partners to keep the deal stalled till August after which US President Bush would be in no position to persuade the American lawmakers to given their sanction for the agreement. With a new American administration, chances of the deal materializing soon are almost zero.

Left sources said that the decision to get the 28 May meeting postponed was taken on 23 May when CPM and its partners resolved not to let government go to the IAEA to sign the safeguards agreement. Left parties did not announce the decision immediately but it was conveyed to the government.

Unless the safeguards agreement is signed, India will not be able to push the nuclear deal since the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the US Congress will bring changes to their existing guidelines on the basis of this document.

India has finished negotiations on the safeguards agreement with the IAEA, but it is yet to sign it. The Congress-led UPA government had assured its Left allies that it would not sign the text without their approval, which remains pending even after eight rounds of discussions between them. (See:Where the Congress went wrong)

India missed another important deadline to push forward the nuclear deal when the 45-member NSG held its plenary session in Berlin on 19 May. Indian leaders maintain in private the "deal is not dead". This was the view conveyed by Indian officials to some of the members of the NSG when they met them on the sidelines of the Berlin plenary session.

If India manages to sign the agreement with the IAEA and get the required exemptions from the NSG by the next month or early July, there is still hope that it may be able to put the 123 agreement that will allow civillian nuclear energy cooperation between New Delhi and Washington before the US Congress for its final nod.

Moreover, the nuclear deal is not the only bone of contention between the UPA and the Left. 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.

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''. 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.