Alliance with DMK soon: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday indicated her party would soon formalise a tie-up with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Briefing reporters after a 90-minute meeting with top DMK leaders -- former Union minister T R Baalu, party's deputy general secretary M K Stalin and Dayanidhi Maran, son of former Union minister Murasoli Maran -- Gandhi said she would meet DMK chief M Karunanidhi in a few days.

Describing the talks as preliminary, Gandhi said: "It is going to be a forward movement and we shall meet again."

She said the discussion was a follow up of senior party leader Manmohan Singh's meeting with the DMK chief in Chennai last week.

Stalin said the talks were focused on strengthening the alliance and the political situation in the state.

Asked whether the issue of seat sharing figured at the talks, he replied in the negative.

Earlier, ending over two decades of differences between the two parties, Gandhi had telephonically greeted Karunanidhi on the new year's day.