New Delhi: Congress and NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) tonight (Mar 2, 2004) failed to reach an understanding on seat sharing in Maharasthra for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

After a three-hour meeting at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, attended by senior Congress and NCP leaders including Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, AICC (All India Congress Committee) General Secretary Vayalar Ravi and NCP leader Praful Patel, however, expressed confidence that they would clinch a deal in a couple of days.

This was the third round of meeting between the two sides after Congress and NCP decided to forge an alliance to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in the polls.