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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Congresss-Trinamool attempt to resolve seat-sharing imbroglio

New Delhi, March 13 : The Congress and the Trinamool Congress made yet another attempt Sunday to resolve the imbroglio over seat-sharing for the West Bengal assembly elections and sources said Trinamool chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee would take a final call on the issue.
Trinamool leader and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy, on his arrival here Sunday, had one-and-half-hour-long meeting with All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge for West Bengal Shakeel Ahmed and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee member Manas Bhulia.
The sources said that Roy would now fly back to Kolkata, where he would brief Banerjee on the talks.
The meeting between Ahmed and Roy assumes significance in the backdrop of the Congress seeking to contest nearly one-third of the 294 assembly seats in the state and Banerjee's reluctance to part with that many seats.
Trinamool sources said Banarjee is inclined to give 58 seats to the Congress. However, the catch is that a large number of these seats are in the bastion of the Communist Party of India-Marxist led Left Front.
While on the one hand the Congress is seeking one-third of the seats in West Bengal, it is not inclined to share its pie in Assam. The Trinamool Congress is seeking some seats from the Congress.
The Congress hardened its position on seat-sharing and cancelled the visit of Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee and Ahmed to Kolkata Saturday.
Thereafter, Congress leader Ahmed Patel spoke to Banarjee to convey the Congress high command's displeasure over her refusal to accede to its demand for 98 seats.
It is learnt that in order to avert the seat-sharing talks reaching point of no return, Banerjee proposed the visit of Roy to Delhi Sunday to meet Congress leaders.

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