New Delhi:
The DMK is hopeful of resolving the crisis over the allocation of ministerial berths and portfolios on Sunday. For the second day, senior leaders and members of the Karunanidhi family held a series of meetings till late Saturday night.
The Congress' last offer was for three Cabinet ministers, three Ministers of State and one independent ministry. DMK is still considering the offer.
"Let's hope things settle," said Dayanidhi Maran after the late night meeting.
But the Congress is in no mood to blink first. It's for the DMK chief to decide who gets what between his family and his party.
Karunanidhi's official residence continued to be the centre of activity through Saturday for DMK leaders. Several rounds of meetings later the party is nowhere close to resolving differences with the Congress over ministerial berths and portfolios.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Congress man in charge of negotiating with the DMK says the two sides need more time but indicated he's in no hurry to fly down to Chennai.
"We do not have any meetings fixed with the DMK. We have to meet and decide the matter," said Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress General Secretary In-charge of Tamil Nadu.
"The PM has asked us to join. We hope someone will talk to us tomorrow," said M K Azhagiri, Leader, DMK.
The stalemate continues over two counts - DMK wants five Cabinet berths and four Ministers of State. Their preferred ministries include Telecom & IT, Power, Surface Transport and Health.
But the Congress is willing to give no more than three Cabinet berths and is offering ministries like Chemicals and Fertilisers and Labour apart from Information Technology.
When asked why is the DMK so keen on getting the same portfolios, A Raja, Former IT Minister, said, "Only the party leader can talk about this."
So would the DMK crisis be resolved by Tuesday, the day when the second round of swearing-in ceremony of the Manmohan Singh government is supposed to take place?
"I don't know, maybe we have the meeting," said Ghulam Nabi Azad
Congress leaders still maintain DMK is an important ally and relations with them are cordial but the message is clear - with 206 MPs, the Congress won't buckle under pressure.