They said the talks will be aimed at reaching an agreement over contesting the Local Government election together, without causing a division in the party.

The SLFP will be represented at the discussion by a trio led by Minister  Nimal Siripala de Silva while Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and C.B. Ratnayake will represent the Joint Opposition. 

The teams held discussions over the weekend as well, but no concrete agreement was arrived at, the sources added. 

It is learnt that the Joint Opposition has put forward a condition to the SLFP stating the President should sack the UNP from the unity government before arriving at any agreement with the Joint Opposition. 

"This condition has made the dialogue more complicated. But, we are in the process of steering the dialogue towards a common ground," a senior SLFP Parliamentarian supporting President Sirisena said.