Cong-NCP talks make headway

The Congress and NCP have made "some headway" during their talks on seat-sharing in Maharashtra for Lok Sabha polls but are yet to reach a firm understanding.

"The over two-hour long meeting, which went on past midnight, discussed seat-sharing for over 40 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state," a senior NCP minister said after the meeting.

"The next round of talks between the two parties will be held in Delhi within a week and we expect that the issue of seat-sharing would be resolved," the minister said.

The meeting, attended by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel among others, was held at the official residence of deputy Chief Minister Chaggan Bhujbal, who belongs to NCP.

Those who attended the meeting included former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Industries Minister Narayan Rane and Gurudas Kamat (all Congress) and Water Resources Minister Ajit Pawar, Bhujbal, NCP state unit President R R Patil and
Rural Development Minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil (all NCP).

There has been speculation over the possible alignment between NCP and Shiv Sena for the Lok Sabha polls. However, neither NCP nor Sena have confirmed the development. Out of the 48 seats in Maharasthra, NCP fought on 23 seats in 2004.