Nasheed meets India PM, seeks early elections in Maldives

New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) India has expressed the hope that engagement with all the stakeholders in Maldives will help bring stability there as former President Mohamed Nasheed met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Monday to seek the country's help to ensure early elections in his country. Nasheed, who quit on February 7 in the wake of widespread protests and later claimed he was a victim of a coup, has been here for nearly a week to garner support for elections in his country this year instead of next year as announced by the Maldivian government. During his meeting with Singh, he is understood to have impressed on the need for early elections and sought India's help in this regard. "I will try to tell the Prime Minister why I think elections are necessary and I will seek his assistance in impressing the regime in Maldives on early elections," he had told PTI last week. Nasheed had also met National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai. PTI Caption for pic: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed at a meeting in New Delhi on Monday. PTI Photo