Sonia discusses DMK issue, council of ministers with PM

Congress President Sonia Gandhi held a late night meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review the situation after its key ally DMK refused to join the government, and decided to renegotiate the issue of portfolios allotment with the Tamil Nadu ruling party.

The two leaders also held discussions to finalise the council of ministers to be sworn in tomorrow.

The nearly three-hour-long meeting that extended beyond midnight at PM's residence reportedly discussed names from both Congress and its pre-poll allies for Cabinet berths and allocation of portfolios to the council of ministers.

Apart from Congress President and the PM, the meeting was attended by Gandhi's Political Secretary Ahmed Patel and National Security Adviser M K Narayanan.

Sources in the Congress told PTI that the meeting decided to further negotiate the portfolios with the DMK leaders over which there were differences of opinion.

Meanwhile, Karunanidhi and his entourage are booked by different morning flights to Chennai in case nothing materialises in the negotiations with Congress.