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New Delhi, May 24: Nearly three years after his famous “if they want to withdraw support, so be it” challenge which eventually led to a bitter divorce between UPA I and the Left over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed an almost wistful longing for the support once provided by the group but left the possibility of any future rapprochement entirely at its door.

Singh’s remarks were made in course of his media conference to mark the first anniversary of UPA II this morning.

Asked if in his second term in office, he missed the “structured support received from the Left” for most of his first innings, the Prime Minister said: “Well, if wishes were horses, even beggars would ride. I know it cannot become a reality.”

He did not stop at that. “But I would like all like-minded political parties, who care about the well-being of our people, who support the general approach towards inclusive growth, which we are trying to put in place, to come and join us in carrying forward this process of sustained and equitable development.”

If the first part of the answer made it clear that the Prime Minister harboured no bitterness towards the Left and wished for — but did not expect — a return to status quo ante, the second part put the ball firmly in the Left’s court.