The NCP-led front will shortly announce a minimum action programme for the state, the party said here.

With the formation of a Third Front, to be called the `Progressive Democratic Front', NCP has set at rest speculation over its potential to forge an alliance.

Though NCP president Sharad Pawar has just succeeded in cobbling up a secular and like-minded combine, his party has failed to reach an understanding with other secular parties like Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and Communist Party of India (CPI).

Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, NCP will contest 38 seats (so far it has announced candidates for 34 seats while the nominees for Bhandara, Chimur, North-East Mumbai and Kulaba will beannounced soon, party sources said). Janata Dal will field two nominees-former union finance minister Madhu Dandavate in Rajapur and former MP Haribhau Mahale in Malegaon.

Samajwadi Party will contest South Mumbai and has nominated a local professional Aziz Lalani.

It has put up party legislator Suhel Lokhandwala in South-Central Mumbai.SP Rajya Sabha member Raj Babbar is believed to have declined the party's offer to contest from South-Central Mumbai whereas the Mumbai unit chief Abu Asim has also rejected the party's request to fight from the South Mumbai against the Congress-I's Murli Deora and BJP's Jayavantiben Mehta.RPI (Athavale) will contest North-Central Mumbai, North Mumbai, Nagpur and Pandharpur constituencies and Swatantra Bharat Paksha in Nanded and Latur constituencies.

In case of the 288 assembly seats, NCP has so far announced nominees for 206 seats while Janata Dal will contest 21 seats, RPI-26, SP-13 and SBP-5.State NCP president Chhagan Bhujbal, RPI president Ramdas Athavale, stateJD(S) chief Nihal Ahmed and veteran socialist leader Mrinal Gore, Mumbai SP chief Abu Asim said at a press conference on Thursday that they were confident of defeating the ruling SS-BJP alliance in the state.

The leaders also admitted in the same breath that they had to overcome several hitches before arriving at seat-sharing and said that the decision on 14 seats which was awaited would be taken shortly.

Asim informed that the party would nominate its corporator Yusuf Abhrani from Nagpada assembly seat and sitting legislator Mohammed Ali Khan from the powerloom town Bhiwandi in Thane district.