Cong. continues to haggle

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, MARCH 7. The Congress today maintained that the number of seats being offered to it by the AIADMK was ``insufficient''. The party also indicated that apart from more seats in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu, it would like to be the first to form a government in Pondicherry.

Senior party leaders, however, made it clear that there could be no compromise on the issue of being part of any power-sharing arrangement with the Paattali Makkal Katchi. ``We are willing to consider, provided the number of seats is increased and we are not called upon to compromise on the basic principle of not sharing power with the PMK,'' the AICC general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, said.

Implicit in the insistence on being the first to form the government in Pondicherry was the admission that it was willing to relinquish claims to a full five-year term - a view that was bolstered by the readiness of the Pondicherry unit, for both a first crack at government-formation and to the idea of a Third Front. Senior leaders here believe that this is the best proposition at the moment, as there was little room for Ms. Jayalalitha, AIADMK chief, to back out of her agreement with the PMK, having committed herself in writing.

The Congress also indicated that it was still considering the issue of delinking the Pondicherry issue, but wanted greater details of the arrangement the AIADMK had in mind.

Its leaders believe the party should get a lion's share of the tickets in Pondicherry as it is the dominant partner there. They are objecting to the fact that the party was being asked to share an equal number of seats with the PMK which has only one MLA in the Assembly to the Congress' nine.

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