Rahul Gandhi meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar

The meeting, which took place at Pawar’s residence here Monday evening, lasted about 45 minutes, NCP sources said Wednesday.

In a politically significant move, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi, days after a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections that saw the Congress winning 52 seats and the the NCP 5.

Opposition leaders, however, said the issue of taking the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) along did not come up during the talks. (HT Photo)

The meeting comes a day after Pawar met MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Mumbai amid speculation that the MNS could be part of the larger front to take on the BJP-Sena alliance in Maharashtra assembly elections due in October this year.

The meeting, which took place at Pawar’s residence here Monday evening, lasted about 45 minutes, NCP sources said Wednesday, according to PTI.

On Tuesday, members of the grand alliance of Opposition which contested the Lok Sabha polls together discussed plans for putting up a united front against the BJP-Shiv Sena during the assembly polls which are due later this year.

Opposition leaders, however, said the issue of taking the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) along did not come up during the talks.

The MNS did not field candidates for the recently-held Lok Sabha polls, but Thackeray aggressively campaigned against the BJP, holding several rallies which drew crowds.