"I feel India may end up with a seat in the United Nations Security Council going by the manner in which New Delhi has mobilized support from other countries in its favor," said

Mahendra Lama, a professor of South Asian studies at New Delhi's Jawahar Lal Nehru University.

Lama, however, said he was apprehensive China and Pakistan may try to stall India's bid.

"Though India's chances to get into the UNSC seem better, China and Pakistan are two major forces, whose stand on the issue is not yet clear," he said. "In the coming days, it has to be seen what stand they take regarding the Indian attempt."

The issue is also likely to dominate Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting Monday with U.S. President George W. Bush for which the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi has had made all the preparations. Singh also had extensive consultations with his colleagues as a part of the preparations.

It is unclear, however, if he will be able to persuade the Bush administration to change its mind on the issue. The stated U.S. policy is that the United Nations should concentrate on what Washington regards as more pressing aspects of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's comprehensive reform plan, such as its budget, its administrative structure, the need to establish a new human rights mechanism to replace the current commission, and its peacekeeping operations.

Although it has said it supports a U.N. seat for "one or two" countries, Washington has publicly backed Japan only.

Over the past few days, Foreign Secretary Shayam Sharan, along with Indian ambassador to the United States, Ronen Singh, gave the final touches to the agreements to be announced after Singh's talks with Bush.

Lama said the other issues like the nuclear agenda and improvement in bilateral relations seem secondary in Singh's list of priorities as he has been concentrating on India's concerted effort to secure a permanent seat in the top U.N. body. India, along with Japan, Germany and Brazil, who call themselves the G-4, has been lobbying for an increase in the number of UNSC seats from the existing 15 to 25.

G-4 foreign ministers have already met and discussed the issue, but China and Pakistan's veiled opposition to New Delhi's attempt is worrying Indian diplomats.

"The prime minister should also raise the issue of cross-border terrorism with Bush if the Kashmir issue comes up," said K.K. Katyal, a veteran journalist and an expert in foreign affairs.

Before leaving for his U.S. visit, Singh was optimistic he would be able to convince the United States to reopen the doors for nuclear cooperation that were shut after India conducted nuclear tests in 1998. He said he felt encouraged during previous meeting with Bush. Arguing India's case for a UNSC seat, Singh said, "A strong India is in the interest of Asia."

Singh's visit marks a deepening of relations between the two nations, which had strained relations through much of the Cold War. The United States is now India's largest trading partner and the two countries have embarked upon diplomatic, economic and defense exchanges. Not everybody in India is happy, however.

The country's Communist, who Singh relies on in Parliament to keep his government in power, is opposed to a nuclear agreement with the United States. It has warned Singh against signing any defense-related agreements.

"Our point is that while India should develop friendly relations with United States and also with several other big powers, it should not be an ally of American defense system," said A.B. Bardhan, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India.

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