Cong may have to yield more to Pawar than it bargained for.

THE SHARAD Pawar- led NCP is not ready to budge an inch from its stand on portfolio distribution in Maharashtra.

The Congress had hoped that with the NCP's strength in the assembly reduced from 71 in 2004 to 62, it would be able to wrest plum ministries from its ally. The Congress has 82 MLAs, 20 more than the NCP, this time.

But Pawar's party is driving a tough bargain and has refused to yield the plum portfolios of home, finance, power and PWD that it got in 2004.

In a bid to blunt the Congress move, the NCP has threatened that it would not join the government and instead provide " outside" support.

After a series of parleys between both the parties, a solution is expected to emerge in a joint meeting in Delhi on Thursday.

Chief minister Ashok Chavan and senior NCP leaders are expected to join talks with Pawar, Praful Patel, defence minister A. K. Antony, AICC incharge Singh and Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.

Sources said if the NCP remained adamant, the Congress may scale down its demand to either home or finance, besides an increase in the number of portfolios for the party. It also plans to keep ministries related to infrastructure and social sector.

In 2004, the Congress got only 18 ministers while the its ally had 24, including deputy chief ministership.

It had to concede to this formula in lieu of the NCP foregoing its claim on the CM's post despite having two more MLAs.

Congress sources dismissed NCP's threat of not joining the government as mere posturing.

" Will Pawar and Patel resign from the Union cabinet?" asked a Congress leader.

Officially, both the parties say the differences will be resolved soon. " This issue will be solved soon.

We have won for the third together, twice in the assembly polls and once in the Lok Sabha elections," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.

NCP leader P. A. Sangma, said: " We do not forsee any problems in government formation." At the same time, he said there could be room for negotiations in the number of ministers but not on portfolios.

There are also rumours of Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar splitting the NCP with 47 MLAs and forming a government with the help of the Shiv Sena- BJP combine. Ajit is said to be upset at being ignored for the deputy CM's post.

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