New Delhi: Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party is in talks with Biju Janata Dal (BJD), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Orissa and plans to contest five seats in Kerala where its efforts to gain entry into the Congress-led United Democratic Front have not been fruitful so far.
A senior party leader who declined to be identified said that the party was also having talks with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu.
Besides, it plans to contest in Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam with allies other than the Congress. All over the country, it plans to contest around 40 to 45 seats.
The party is planning to have seat adjustments with Congress in its stronghold of Maharashtra as also in Gujarat, Goa and Bihar.
The talks with BJD are significant in view of the fact that in Orissa, Assembly elections are also being held along with Lok Sabha polls.
The NCP's contesting the polls in Kerala is likely to affect the fortunes of Congress which has been upbeat about its prospects in the southern state where it had drawn a blank in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
Pawar had talks with senior Congress leaders AK Antony and Ahmed Patel on Wednesday night and the two parties are expected to finalise the seat sharing in Maharashtra in a couple of days.
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