Kathmandu, May 24: Nepal Maoist chairman Prachanda met a key aide and the son-in-law of King Gyanendra to prepare the ground for the monarch to quit the Narayanhiti royal palace, with the crucial Constituent Assembly next week expected to dethrone him and declare the country a republic.

Prachanda, who is trying to form a coalition government led by the CPN-Maoist, met Raj Bahadur Singh ahead of the May 28 Constituent Assembly meeting that is expected to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy.

Maoist central committee leader C.P. Gajurel told mediapersons yesterday that the Maoist chief met Gyanendra's aide in the wake of the king leaving the Narayanhiti royal palace to settle in a private palace in the Nagarjun hill resort on the outskirts of the capital.

"Meeting the kings men is not a big issue, as our party was willing to meet the king to ask him to leave the palace soon," Gajurel was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post daily.

According to a report, the secret meeting between Singh and Prachanda took place at Dhunche in Rasuwa district, situated in the north ot Kathmandu near the China border. However, there was no official confirmation or denial of the report.

Prachanda had earlier said that he would like to meet the king to convince him to carry out a smooth exit from the palace in Kathmandu. He had earlier met former Home Minister and president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal Kamal Thapa, who is close to the king, several times to convey his message to the former rebel leader.

Maoist chairman Prachanda earlier revealed that he had sent a message to Gyanendra to leave the palace by May 27, a day before the key meeting formally abolishes the monarchy. However, he had warned that Gyanendra could face forceful eviction if he refused to quit voluntarily.