Talks between DMK leaders and Sonia failed?

Talks between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders M K Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran late on Monday night appeared to have made no headway in securing a breakthrough in the stalemate on seat-sharing between the two parties for Tamil Nadu assembly polls though DMK put on hold its decision to pull out of the United Progressive Alliance government.

On a day of hectic developments, DMK appeared to have pulled itself back from the brink when it acceded to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's appeal for a day to give negotiations a chance.

Late in the evening, Alagiri, son of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, and Maran drove to Gandhi's residence at 10, Janpath, and had a nearly 40-minute meeting.

Emerging from the meeting, neither Alagiri nor Maran spoke to the waiting mediapersons.

However, sources said the talks between the two parties were stuck on the number of seats Congress would get and the choice of its constituencies.

The sources said DMK was ready to allow Congress to contest all the 48 seats it had done in the previous elections but the choice of the additional 13 seats it will give to Congress will be decided by DMK.

Congress had scaled up its demand to 63 seats. The sources said there will be another meeting on Tuesday between the DMK leaders and probably Pranab Mukherjee.

However, Congress sources said the issue could be sorted out in a day or two.

Earlier, in the day DMK put on hold the resignation of its six ministers from the UPA government after Mukherjee telephoned Karunanidhi twice and urged him not to pull out his ministers from the cabinet and sought a day's time to resolve the problems.

"Pranab Mukherjee called our president M Karunanidhi twice during the day. The Congress has asked for a day's time. So, the withdrawal of ministers from the government has been put on hold till Tuesday," Deputy Chief Minister and DMK treasurer M K Stalin told mediapersons in Chennai.

Asked when the issue will be resolved, Stalin said "they have asked for a day."

DMK MP Kanimozhi said the talks between her party and the Congress were on still and that a "clear picture" will emerge only on Tuesday.

The turn of events took place after Mukherjee held a series of meeting first with DMK minister Dayanidhi Maran followed by discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, Congress in-charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu Ghulam Nabi Azad and Home Minister P Chidambaram were present during the discussions between Maran and Mukherjee.

Shortly before the six ministers, including Maran and M K Alagiri, were to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and handover their resignation in the evening, Chidambaram met Mukherjee for a second time.

The Union Finance Minister then called Karunanidhi seeking a day's time to come back with Congress' position on the seat-sharing issue.

Sources said that DMK made it clear that the offer of 60 seats to Congress was final and that the choice of constituencies could be negotiated.