Mumbai:
The Congress and NCP are likely to finally come up with a seat-sharing formula for the Maharashtra elections. The two have been negotiating for weeks and senior leaders say negotiations have entered a final phase now.
According to sources, the two sides are still negotiating on 10 Assembly seats. The negotiations are being done over many seats in Western Maharashtra.
Congress leaders are offering the NCP 109 seats, while the Congress wants to contest on 179 seats, according to sources.
They added that some Congress men want tie-up, but friendly fights in pockets. The NCP, meanwhile, has rejected the proposal for any friendly fights.
The development comes a day before Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Mumbai to formally kickstart the election campaign in Maharashtra. However, a formal seat-sharing alliance still eludes the Congress and the NCP.
The Congress sources have, however, said that the party will not link alliance talks with Sonia's Maharashtra visit.
Senior Congress leaders who have been negotiating informally with the NCP for a few weeks now say negotiations have entered the final stages and they are hoping for a pact announcement soon.
After suffering electoral reverses in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the NCP had indicated it is agreeable to contest in less seats than the previous seat-sharing agreement of 124 seats.
However, the Congress and NCP have not yet been able to identify the seats for each party. The Congress is pushing for more seats in western Maharashtra - a Maratha stronghold.
Sonia Gandhi's visit to Mumbai could help in serving as a catalyst to find an early solution to a formal pact with the NCP. Both sides are trying to reach a formal decision by this evening before she goes.
According to sources, the two sides are still negotiating on 10 Assembly seats. The negotiations are being done over many seats in Western Maharashtra.
Congress leaders are offering the NCP 109 seats, while the Congress wants to contest on 179 seats, according to sources.
They added that some Congress men want tie-up, but friendly fights in pockets. The NCP, meanwhile, has rejected the proposal for any friendly fights.
The development comes a day before Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Mumbai to formally kickstart the election campaign in Maharashtra. However, a formal seat-sharing alliance still eludes the Congress and the NCP.
The Congress sources have, however, said that the party will not link alliance talks with Sonia's Maharashtra visit.
Senior Congress leaders who have been negotiating informally with the NCP for a few weeks now say negotiations have entered the final stages and they are hoping for a pact announcement soon.
After suffering electoral reverses in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the NCP had indicated it is agreeable to contest in less seats than the previous seat-sharing agreement of 124 seats.
However, the Congress and NCP have not yet been able to identify the seats for each party. The Congress is pushing for more seats in western Maharashtra - a Maratha stronghold.
Sonia Gandhi's visit to Mumbai could help in serving as a catalyst to find an early solution to a formal pact with the NCP. Both sides are trying to reach a formal decision by this evening before she goes.
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