Shekhawat drives down to meet Pratibha Patil

Shekhawat surprises everyone by driving down to the Rajasthan Governor's place of stay to meet her.

Their apparent attempt to outbid each other in extending courtesy saw Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is expected to contest the Presidential poll as an independent, on Saturday drove down to Jodhpur House in New Delhi to meet the UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil.

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Unmindful of protocol, Shekhawat surprised everyone by driving down to the Rajasthan Governor's place of stay to meet her.

Patil, whose name was announced as the UPA-Left nominee for the top post on Thursday, and who arrived in the capital on Saturday, had sought an appointment with Shekhawat.

However, the Vice President outbid her in extending courtesy and surprised her by going to meet her.

Shekhawat was accompanied by party colleague and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the meeting that lasted 20 minutes. Also present in the meeting was Minister of State in PMO Prithviraj Chauhan.

Shekhawat, after the meeting, did not wait to talk to the reporters. He brushed aside the mikes of the waiting electronic media and refused to take any questions.

One of the questions being put to him was whether he had blessed Patil for the election.

After meeting Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at his residence on Saturday evening, Patil said "this was a courtesy meet and we didnot discuss anything about the Presidential election".

A Maharashtrian of Rajasthani descent, Patil is married to Devi Singh Shekhawat, who hails from near the Vice President's village in Rajasthan. Both Patil and Shekhawat share excellent personal relations.

Patil, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Left leaders, was also scheduled to meet Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who was earlier considered a front-runner for the election, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.