Soon after the meeting Lalu came out and told the press, “Government will not fall and there is no possibility of mid-term polls”.

All participants of the 15-member panel took part in the meeting held at the office of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the chairman of the committee, in South Block.

The two sides – UPA, Left – are scheduled to meet again on 22nd October to talk further on the Indo-US nuclear deal and the Left parties are meeting on Tuesday after noon to take stock of the situation.

Our agenda N-deal, not mid-term polls: Left

The Left parties appeared to have prevailed over the government not to launch formal talks with the IAEA on the nuclear deal for the time being, but warned that they could take a decision to withdraw their support whenever the ruling coalition takes steps to operationalise the agreement with the US.

"Our agenda is the (Indo-US) nuclear deal. It is not mid-term election and not destabilisation. We are saying don't proceed with the deal. Once they take a decision, we will then decide what to do," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said after a two-hour meeting of the four Left parties.

The Left parties met hours after the fourth meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on the nuclear issue, following which CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said, "we don't think any formal negotiations will begin (with IAEA) before this Committee comes out with its findings. Our talks are continuing. I don't think anything will be operationalised."

Asked whether the government gave an assurance that it would not move forward to operationalise the 123 agreement at this moment, Yechury said the joint committee was set up with a clear understanding that its findings would be considered while operationalising the deal.

"It is there in black and white. We are going by that assurance. Four meetings (of the UPA-Left Committee) have already been held and another will follow on October 22."

Asked to comment on IAEA Chief Mohammad ElBaradei's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, Yechury quipped atithi devo bhava or 'Guest is God'.