Rahul meets Sharad Pawar

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met NCP leader Sharad Pawar at the latter's residence and is learnt to have discussed the current political situation with him.

Gandhi, who has been insisting on resigning as Congress chief after the Lok Sabha polls debacle, drove to Pawar's residence and spent nearly an hour with him where it is learnt that the NCP chief also told him to continue as party chief.

Details of the meeting were not immediately available.

Pawar was in the Congress before he floated the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999. NCP is part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy met Rahul Gandhi at his residence, where Sonia Gandhi was also present. Kumaraswamy urged Rahul Gandhi not to quit as party chief.

Meanwhile, party senior leader Ahmed Patel met Mallikarjun Kharge at the AICC headquarters and later met former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh.

The meetings come ahead of Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on June 1, where the newly-elected Congress MPs will elect their new leader.