In what must be the most widely expect pullout since the British left India in 1947, the TMC announced on 18th Sept that it will withdraw its Ministers from the UPA Govt on Fri 21st Sept at 3pm. Somewhat more unexpectedly, the TMC also said that it will withdraw support from the UPA Govt (presumably on the same date & time). However, since everybody in the political class in Delhi has known for sometime now that two parties in India – TMC and SP – have a vested interested in seeking early General Elections, the TMC’s threatened pullout is unlikely to have come as a surprise to the Congress high command.
India has had a precedent of 'minority' govts, and given the outside support, the govt could continue. Moreover, one or more of the regional parties could step in. However, the TMC's withdrawal could undermine the Congress party’s support within its allies. For instance, another of its allies, the DMK (18 seats) also opposes the reforms and while it has chosen to participate in the "Bharat Bandh", a nation-wide strike, it has said that it "wont embarrass the govt and take an extreme step". Moreover, the Samajwadi party (22 seats), which provides external support to the UPA, has asked "not be taken for granted,
