Union minister Nitin Gadkari today met NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Pune, a source said, a day after the ruling BJP suffered setbacks in Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls held across 11 states.
The source in Gadkari's office confirmed that the minister met Pawar, but said he did not know what they discussed.
Pawar and Gadkari are known to enjoy a good equation.
Dealing a blow to the BJP, opposition parties yesterday won 11 out of 14 Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls, limiting the saffron party and its allies to three, and snatching the high-profile Kairana parliamentary seat in Uttar Pradesh on the back of their new-found unity.
The BJP lost Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra to the NCP in the bypoll while retaining the Palghar Lok Sabha seat.
When contacted, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said he was not aware if the two leaders had met. Malik said if the information was true, there was no reason to believe that the meeting had any political overtones.
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They might have discussed state-related issues, including the problems in the sugar sector, he said.
Earlier today, Gadkari held a press conference to highlight the Narendra Modi government's achievements in the past four years.
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