New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on September 01 had a 45-minute meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, after which he downplayed the significance of the drubbing that the party received in the Solapur Lok Sabha bypoll, a seat vacated by him after he took office in the state.

"Since the bye-election is only for 10 months, not much meaning should be derived from its outcome," he said after the meeting.

It would not be proper to think that the defeat in Solapur would have any impact on the political situation in the state, he said.

PTI