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Welsh Secretary Peter Hain says he would expect Plaid Cymru to back a potential Labour and Lib Dem coalition.He said were the nationalist parties to vote down a partnership it could result in a Conservative government.
Plaid had said previously they had left the option open to do a deal with the Conservatives in the hung parliament.
Plaid parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd said his party could also play a part in any Labour-Lib Dem agreement, but not as part of a formal coalition.
Conservative AM for Cardiff North Jonathan Morgan said if the Lib Dems sided with Labour he felt there would have to be another general election.
Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Wales programme Mr Hain paid tribute to Gordon Brown and said he agreed with his decision to step down as Labour Party leader.
Mr Brown's statement on Monday was seen as a move to smooth the way to a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats to form a government.
Mr Hain said it was "Labour's duty" to negotiate with the Liberal Democrats to see if they could form the next government.
"If [the electorate] wanted a Conservative majority they would have voted for it," he added.
"We have an obligation to see if we can get a partnership government which I think reflects the instincts of the people which is not for the Conservative's right wing policies."
He said a coalition with the Liberal Democrats would leave the two parties just a few seats short of a clear majority.
"It is very clear [with] the DUP, the SDLP in Northern Ireland and others including the Green MP . . . we get towards that position.
"I hope the nationalists, whether Welsh nationalists or Scottish nationalists, would not want to bring down a Labour Liberal government because it would immediately mean the Tories coming in and a Tory cuts programme that would devastate Wales," he added.
"I think we have to say to the other parties including the nationalists 'you are anti-Conservative like us - if you are going to fulfil that submission to stop the Conservatives . . . I would expect you to support us'."
Mr Llwyd said Plaid could be involved informally in any agreement between Labour and the Lib Dems.
"If there is an understanding between the Labour party and the Liberals then clearly I would hope that we can play our part as well," he said.
"Informally, not in a coalition sense, but in the sense of signing up to an agreement in various policies and then looking at things issue by issue.
'Disastrous'
"I think it's perfectly workable. We have been there before - there's nothing new about it.
"The only complicating feature perhaps is that there would be numerous players this time."
However, Mr Morgan said a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition would be "disastrous".
He said there would be "another unelected Labour prime minister who has not faced the electorate in a vote at a general election - the second Labour prime minister to do that within three years.
"That would be disastrous for this country and if we end up in that position because the Liberal Democrats have decided to back Labour then I think we will need to move swiftly to another general election."
Former Liberal Democrat Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Opik said Mr Brown's "magnanimous" decision to go could open up "further dialogue" between the Lib Dems and Labour.
"And I'm pretty sure that's why they've timed it as they have because it actually could mean that the very complicated rainbow alliance that could happen goes back on the agenda if the electoral reform requirements aren't met by the Tories," he added.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.