Amid speculation about the Samajwadi Party and the Congress joining hands to bail out UPA government in its stand-off with the Left on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the BJP on Monday put up a brave face, saying this would ultimately benefit it.

"If the SP and the Congress come together, that will mark the death knell of the so-called Third Front as the SP is kingpin of this front. This would lead to the Congress versus anti-Congress politics which would benefit the BJP," a senior BJP leader said, preferring anonymity.

"The SP and the Congress joining hands would benefit the SP at the cost of Congress in UP. This alliance would harm Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) most as a chunk of Dalit-Muslim votes would go to the SP and the Congress. The BJP will gain in such a scenario," the leader claimed.

Explaining his point further, the leader said, "The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is going to face anti-incumbency due to rising inflation, failure on the internal security front and the nuclear deal fiasco."

The SP has been at driving force behind United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), a coalition of regional parties aiming to form a Third Front. If SP supports Congress, it

may mark the end of UNPA as its other constituents Telugu Desam Party, Asom Gana Parishad and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), among others may abandon the idea of a Third Front.

The Samajwadi Party, with its 39 MPs, could play a crucial role to help UPA government in the event of Left parties withdrawing support if it went ahead with the nuke deal.