Congress to seek 100 seats from Trinamool?
March 9th, 2011 - 2:44 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) The Congress is expected to begin formal seat sharing talks with the Trinamool Congress within a week for the West Bengal assembly polls, having sealed a pact with the DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Congress sources said state leaders had suggested that the party should seek from the Trinamool around 100 seats to contest in the 294-member assembly. The West Bengal polls will be held from April 18 to May 10.
Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday met district presidents and MPs from the state to identify the seats the party wished to contest, they said.
Former union minister Shakeel Ahmed, the Congress in-charge of West Bengal, said informal discussions had taken place with the Trinamool but formal seat sharing talks between the two parties were yet to begin.
“As members of political parties, it is natural to have informal discussions. No formal discussions have taken place. We will sit together and hopefully arrive at a mutually agreeable number for both parties,” Ahmed told IANS.
He said the talks were likely to take place in a week.
Ahmed, who met district presidents for more than three hours Tuesday, took feedback about winning prospects of the party.
Trinamool sources said the party has offered 58 seats to the Congress.
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Tags: congress leader, district presidents, dmk, finance minister, formal discussions, informal discussions, member assembly, mps, New Delhi, pact, political parties, pranab mukherjee, prospects, shakeel ahmed, state leaders, tamil nadu, trinamool congress, union minister, west bengal