Deal in Maharashtra,govt tomorrow

Two weeks after they won a third straight term in office in Maharashtra,and after days of haggling over portfolios in the new council of ministers....

Two weeks after they won a third straight term in office in Maharashtra,and after days of haggling over portfolios in the new council of ministers,the Congress and NCP managed to end their deadlock over forming a coalition government and will formally stake claim on Friday.

The Congress,sources said,will have 23 portfolios,including that of the Chief Minister,while the NCP will have 20,including the Deputy CM.

NCP leader and Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters late Thursday that the two sides had succeeded in drawing a power-sharing formula.

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There is no compromise from either side… It is a win-win situation, said Patel,adding that they would hand over the letter of support to the Governor on Friday and the Chief Minister and council of ministers would be sworn-in on Saturday.

Patel said the two parties had agreed on a portfolio-sharing formula on the lines of their agreement in 1999 when they first formed a coalition government. But he refused to divulge details about the number of ministers who would be sworn-in by the two parties or the portfolios they had agreed to share.

Sources said the NCP was learnt to have given up three portfolios including Forest,Environment and Labour for the Congress. The NCP,as per the understanding,was ready to give up another portfolio,Health,but the Congress was still negotiating for either Home or Finance. Congress president Sonia Gandhi,the sources said,was keen to keep the Home portfolio with the Chief Minister.

AICC in-charge of Maharashtra A K Antony was likely to hold another round of talks with NCP leaders late Thursday night. In the evening,Sonia Gandhi held separate consultations with party leaders including Antony and former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Emerging from the meeting at 10,Janpath,Antony said: Negotiations with the NCP have been completed. Everything has been settled.

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In 1999,both parties got 21 ministries each while the Congress also got the post of CM even though it had won significantly more seats than the NCP. The Congress had agreed to share the ministries equally then based on the same formula as the earlier Shiv Sena-BJP alliance because the alliance was formed in a hurry after the polls and there was fear that the newly formed NCP could go with the Sena and BJP and keep the Congress out of power.

This time though,the Congress,riding on the strength of its increased numbers in the Assembly 82 to NCPs 62 sought additional portfolios and key ministries.