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In the wake of DMK stand on providing outside support to UPA, Congress President Sonia Gandhi held fresh discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday over the vexed issue of portfolio allocation.

Gandhi drove down to Singh’s official Racecourse Road residence along with her political secretary Ahmed Patel.

The meeting comes in the wake of key ally DMK, with 18 MPs, deciding to extend outside support to the UPA as its talks with the Congress on ministerial berths fell through.

DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and his son and MP from Madurai, M Azhagiri, left for Chennai on Friday morning.

Earlier the Congress President took stock of the situation after DMK, the third largest pre-poll ally of the ruling coalition, bargained hard for more berths in the Union council of ministers.

There are different versions of how many berths the DMK, which has 18 MPs is demanding, and how many the Congress is willing to give.

The Congress is opposed to the inclusion of T R Baalu and A Raja on grounds of performance and alleged corruption which DMK has sought to contest.

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