Seat-sharing impasse in Cong-INPT alliance on

AGARTALA, Dec 2 ? Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura will demand 18 ST reserved and two general seats from the alliance partner Congress. The Central Working Committee of the INPT held a six-hour meeting Saturday at old ADC building in Palace Compound to discuss the political impasse that had arisen out of Congress stand not to share more than 14 seats with it. The CWC which was attended by INPT president Bijoy Harangkhawl, veteran tribal leader Shyamacharan Tripura and party? general secretary Rabindra Debbarma, has resolved that in case Congress declines to share all the 20 ST reserved constituencies, then the party will demand 18 ST and two unreserved seats. INPT general secretary Rabindra Debbarma also denied that in New Delhi talks Congress president Sonia Gandhi had offered them 14 seats. ?It was not Sonia Gandhi. She in fact, did not utter any word. It was Congress chief negotiator Dr Manmohan Singh and AICC incharge Manishankar Aiyer who were discussing with the number of seats to be shared by the two allies,? he said and added the Congress negotiators started with 12 seats and ended with 13 seats for the INPT which was not acceptable to them. Debbarma informed that the INPT and Congress would seat for seat sharing talks once again in Agartala where AICC representative Mani Shankar Aiyer would remain present. The INPT general secretary hoped that both the Opposition allies would be able to strike out a compromise formula on the vexed seat adjustment issue and save the alliance. The CWC meeting also discussed the delimitation issue and opposed organisation of the Assembly areas before the polls. Meantime, source said that INPT had already indicted the same 18 plus two seat formula in New Delhi talks which was not acceptable to the AICC. Now if they once again raise the same demand there is little chance of breaking the ice. ?However, it is highly likely that though the INPT officially says they will stick to 18 St and two general seats, at the last moment for the sake of the alliance they may also leave the two general seats and strike the adjustment with 18 ST seats,? said a senior political leader here.