New Delhi, Feb 20: The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have reached an agreement on seats sharing) in some states, while deciding to continue further discussions on seat adjustments in Maharashtra next week. The Congress will spare seats for the NCP in Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, according to senior Congress leaders Ahmad Patel and Vyalar Ravi, both of whom attended a meeting with NCP leadership.
The duo told mediapersons that talks were held smoothly and they were happy with the progress of the talks, during which many problems were sorted out. Both sides agreed to sit again sometime next week to give final shape to the alliance in Maharashtra and outside.
The Congress side was represented by Pranab Mukherjee, senior party leader and CWC member, Ahmad Patel, political secretary to congress president Sonia Gandhi, Vilas Rao Deshmukh, CWC member, Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, and Ranjit Deshmukh, PCC president for Maharashtra.
The NCP was represented, besides Pawar, by Home Minister R R Patil and Prafulla Patel, among others.
The understanding to have an electoral alliance between the Congress and the NCP was reached when Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called on Pawar in late December in response to an invitation extended to her by Pawar at his residence to discuss the emerging political situation. Bureau Report