And so, a confused Bose attended Parliament and voted as per the party whip. The minority Deve Gowda government fell in the face of the grudging, yet decisive joint vote of the Congress and the BJP. The count, tolled at the stroke of midnight on April 11, was 338 votes against the confidence move and just 190 in favour of Gowda. Kesri ended the day with a sense of personal triumph but political instability and a mid-term poll, avoidable strain for the exchequer, loom large. This near-apocalyptic scenario, which may yet play itself out, is the logical conclusion of Kesri's March 30 letter to President Shankar Dayal Sharma withdrawing support to the UF government.