New Delhi: NCP leader Praful Patel had a
meeting with party chief Sharad Pawar Monday in the backdrop of
continuing differences with Congress on seat sharing for the
October 13 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
Reports have said differences have been narrowed down to a
few constituencies in Pune and Mumbai and the non-completion
of the exercise was delaying a formal announcement of the
alliance, which is expected by tomorrow.
While there has been no official word, Congress is likely
to contest 174 and NCP 114 seats in the 288-member Assembly.
The Congress Central Election Committee which is headed by
party chief Sonia Gandhi and has Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
as a member, is believed to have cleared 140 to 150 candidates
so far including Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and several of
his cabinet colleagues.
A meeting of the Congress Screening Committee for
Maharashtra was also held today apparently to scrutinise the
candidates for the remaining seats.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, September 21, 2009, 14:15