Poll date fixed,Cong,NCP may finally sit across table

Seat-sharing talks,however,are set to be a stormy affair with the two sides seeking to improve upon their respective tallies in the 2004 Assembly elections the Congress had then contested 166 and the NCP 122 seats,in the 288-member House.

Buoyed by its performance in the Lok Sabha elections,the Congress is aiming at contesting over 180 Assembly seats,according to sources. It also claims that the delimitation of constituencies has worked in its favour.

However,looking at the prospect of getting just 100-odd seats,the NCP has made it clear that it would not accept any humiliating deal. Do they Congress have any leader of Sharad Pawars stature in Maharashtra? We also have candidates for all 288 seats. It has to be a level-playing field, says a senior NCP leader.

With a section of the Congress asking why the NCP shouldnt merge with them,the NCP leadership is also extra cautious about not being seen as giving in to the party.