The Home Ministry today held detailed discussions to decide the broad contours of the fifth round of tripartite talks on Gorkhaland issue starting from March 18 where Gorkha Janmukti Morcha may bargain hard for regional authority having powers similar to that of a state.

The talks will be held at a political level with Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken representing the Centre as well as Congress while Dinesh Trivedi will be from Trinamool Congress and CPI-M will have two representatives in it.

Maken, who will lead the Home Ministry, had detailed meeting with the Home Secretary today to discuss the issue.

The meeting of the duo was followed by another round of deliberations with Home Minister P Chidambaram to decide on the issues which could be raised by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in the fifth round of talks, official sources said.

The GJM is demanding a "regional authority" within West Bengal with powers similar to that of a state, they said.

It has also agreed to leave some of plains from the proposed authority, they said.