New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament. NCP (SCP) leader
and Baramati MP Supriya Sule was also present at the meeting. The pictures of the meeting were shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the pictures, PM Modi and Sharad Pawar could be seen laughing. The Prime Minister also shared a picture in which he was seen receiving the veteran Maratha leader. Reports claimed that during the meeting, the NCP(SP) supremo submitted a memorandum to PM Modi related to farmers and irrigation issues. Both Sharad Pawar and Sule had earlier joined the protestors at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, where the CJP is continuing its protest against the NEET-UG paper leak. The party has extended its support to the call for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. However, the meeting fueled speculation over the Sharad Pawar faction aligning with the BJP-led National Democratic Party (NDA) after merging with the other NCP faction.
The rumours of the Sharad Pawar-led faction joining hands with the NDA gained traction after late-night meetings in Mumbai between NCP(SCP) leader Jayant Patil, ruling NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, and CM Devendra Fadnavis. Reacting to these reports, the NCP(SP) has clarified the meetings were for administrative matters, not political realignment.
Meanwhile, last week, Sule also denied speculation about joining the NDA or a merger with the NCP, stating that there is no proposal from another party to join hands with them.
Addressing the reporters in Mumbai, Supriya Sule stated that no senior leader in the party has been approached regarding this matter. "Pawar sahib, I, Jayant Patil, Anil Deshmukh and Rajesh Tope or any senior leader have not received any proposal from any party... Nor the BJP, the Congress, or any NDA ally given us a proposal," she had said.
The NCP(SP) has eight Lok Sabha MPs.
