Sonia authorised to talks to allies

Congress authorised chief Sonia Gandhi to begin talks with allies and other "secular" parties for forming next govt.

Pumped by the spectacular victory in Andhra Pradesh, Congress on Tuesday authorised Sonia Gandhi to hold consultations with its allies and non-NDA secular parties on the formation of a non-NDA Congress-led Government at the Centre.

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"Gandhi has been authorised to hold talks with the leaders of Congress' allies and other non-NDA secular parties with regard to formation of a non-NDA secular Government led by the Congress," party General Secretary Ambika Soni told reporters after a brief meeting of the party's Strategy Committee this evening.

The meeting, chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi, was attended among others by Oscar Fernandes, Ambika Sonia, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh and Suresh Pachauri.