Sonia meets President

Sonia discussed Govt formation with Kalam and will meet him again with allies' letters of support.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday discussed government formation with President APJ Abdul Kalam and will meet him again on Wednesday with letters of support from all coalition partners.

"We were called for preliminary discussion on formation of government. The President was keen to know about the parties which are supporting us from outside and those who are supporting us from inside which means pre-poll allies.

"We explained to him these issues. He also told us he has received letters of support from Samajwadi Party and RLD. We shall meet the President on Wednesday with letters of support from all coalition partners and then we shall proceed from there on," Sonia told reporters at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan after a 20-minute meeting with Kalam.

Sonia, who was accompanied by senior leader Manmohan Singh, said in reply to questions that at the moment the Left parties are not participating in the government and will support it from outside.

"Similarly the DMK is for the moment supporting from outside," she said.

Asked when is the swearing-in ceremony, Sonia said, "You will see it very soon".

Before she met the President, Sonia held discussions with top party leaders for an hour at her residence. They included Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Natwar Singh, Ahmed Patel and Ambika Soni.