The problem of seat sharing in Maharashtra, where assembly election will be held on October 13, has become a hard nut to crack for the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party.

Only Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her NCP counterpart Sharad Pawar can solve the issue when they meet next week, according to sources.

Despite several rounds of talks among Maharashtra leaders in Mumbai, which concluded on Tuesday, there has been no decision on sharing of nearly 60 of the 288 seats, including several in Mumbai, the sources said.

Though September 23 is the last date for filing nominations, the Congress and NCP are lagging behind the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combine, which has got its act together.