Team Congress meets Sharad Pawar in backdrop of Nana Patole row

(From left) Sharad Pawar, HK Patil, Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat at the NCP chief’s home on Tuesday

All India Congress Committee's general secretary HK Patil and senior Congress ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan met the Nationalist Congress Party boss Sharad Pawar on Tuesday evening, apparently in the backdrop of a controversy over Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole's statement that he was under the watch of the MVA government's intelligence mechanism and the chief minister and home minister were given every information about his activities.

Before meeting Pawar for rapprochement, Patil defended his party leader at a media conference reiterating Patole's explanation that his statements were misconstrued and wrongly reported by the media.

The AICC in-charge of Maharashtra affairs said Patole had targeted the Centre, not the state, while telling the party workers about a routine intelligence gathering of all political parties and leaders. He wanted the matter put to an end.

Patole did not accompany the senior Congress leaders to Pawar's Mumbai residence. NCP's social media team tweeted about the meeting, calling it a courtesy call. There was no official statement from the Congress.

It wasn't known whether the Congress leaders would visit CM Uddhav Thackeray as well. Senior NCP and Shiv Sena leaders have been upset because of a series of controversial statements made by Patole even since he took over as the MPCC chief.

Also read: Won't react to small people: Sharad Pawar on Nana Patole's remarks on Ajit Pawar

Last Sunday, Pawar belittled Patole saying that the Congress leader was a small man and his statement did not warrant his response. However, others have spoken very strongly against Patole. The MPCC chief's aggression has also invited the ire of his party counterparts even as Patole's camp says that he has the mandate of the party high command ‘to call a spade a spade' and make strong efforts to strengthen the party.

Patil is on a three-day tour of Maharashtra for reviewing the party's preparedness for the 22 civic bodies including Mumbai and Thane, 24 zilla parishads and 144 municipal councils that will go to polls next year.

"These are like mini (assembly) elections. We have more time to prepare for them," Patil said. Patole has been maintaining that the Congress will contest these polls independent of the MVA allies.