Sheela Bhatt reports from New Delhi: Following the withdrawal of the DMK from the United Progressive Alliance, Congress party trouble-shooters have contacted estranged ally and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

According to reliable sources in the government, Banerjee seems to have stepped down from her earlier antagonistic attitude towards the UPA and agreed in principle to give issue based support to the government especially on the Sri Lankan issue.

Sources told rediff.com that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has been given the task of wooing the Trinamool Congress chief and try to smoothen differences.Banerjee u-turn may have been prompted by a tepid response to her public meeting in Jungle Mahal in West Midnapore district where only a few hundreds of people tuned up. Read