Jayalalitha had confirmed a visit here and was slated to attend a function in aid of spastic children and the occassion was to be used for political purposes in the backdrop of moves to unseat the Union Government.

Apparently, the BJP also got wind of it and sources said this could have been one reason why Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee referred to the possibility of a midterm election soon.

However, following the reporting of the moves in the media, the whole thing has now been put off for a while. There was every possibility of Jayalalitha cancelling her visit as she had done on at least one occasion in the past. The Left and the Congress now feel things could peak within this month but the nitty-gritties are still to be formalised.

Union Law Minister Thambi Durai, who met Vajpayee a fewdays ago amid speculation that the AIADMK had issued another ultimatum to him on the DMK government's dismissal, officially said Jayalalitha is not visiting Delhi tomorrow. But what she could do a few days later is still open.

The issue of toppling the Union Government had gathered momentum in behind the scene activities with Congress and other Opposition leaders feeling the time was right to go for the kill. This was the primary reason why the talks between the Congress and AIADMK and Congress and the Left had gained importance in recent days.

Meanwhile, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy also reacted to the report carried in The Indian Express yesterday. While not saying anything on Jayalalitha's proposed visit, Swamy said there were three reasons why he called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi on November 30.

``In passing, I did say to Sonia that the BJP-led government will not collapse on the weight of its own contradictions as is being stated by Congress leaders and that if no efforts aremade to topple it, it would last its full term.''