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Half the allies have given support letters: Cong


May 15, 2004 15:09 IST

Half the allies of the Congress-led coalition have given letters of support to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel said on Saturday.

The rest of the letters of support will be received later today or by Sunday evening.

Sonia will need these letters when she meets the President after he issues an invitation to the Congress party to form the next government.

The Telengana Rashtra Samiti, which wants a separate state, said a decision on joining the government at the Centre would depend on the benefits the party would get for its cause. 

"Whichever is advantageous, we will decide," TRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters in New Delhi.

The TRS, which contested the assembly and Lok Sabha elections with the Congress, bagged five out of the six Lok Sabha seats it contested in Andhra Pradesh. 

He said the TRS would continue to pursue and hold discussions with all political parties which believed in the creation of
smaller states. 

Extending unconditional support to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to head a coalition government at the Centre, Rao
said his party became strong after aligning with the Congress.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibhu Soren says his party would "definitely" be a part of the Congress-led government at the Centre. 

"Our alliance has wiped out the BJP in Jharkhand. So we will definitely be a part of the government," Soren told
reporters outside Sonia Gandhi's home.

Asked about the number of ministers and portfolios that the JMM would demand, he said these decisions would be taken during meetings with the Congress and its other allies.


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