PM Modi and Sharad Pawar met in Delhi.
New Delhi:
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s residence. The meeting last 50 minutes, sources said.
“Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sharad Pawar met PM Narendra Modi,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted, along with a photo of the two leaders meeting.
The meeting comes two days ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament and amid reports of strains in the Shiv Sena-led alliance in Maharashtra, of which Mr Pawar’s party is a constituent.
Earlier this week, the veteran politician denied being a candidate for the post of President — a speculation triggered by election analyst Prashant Kishor’s meeting with the Gandhis.
“It is wrong to say I am a candidate for the Presidential election,” Mr Pawar told reporters on Wednesday.
Mr Pawar, 80, who had taken the initiative to stitch up an opposition wall ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, also said no decision has been taken about the 2024 elections. “The political situation keeps changing,” he added.
The Rajya Sabha member had also commented on the formation of the new Ministry of Cooperation a day before the mega reshuffle of PM Modi’s cabinet. He said laws for the cooperation sector had been framed in the Maharashtra assembly and that the Centre has no right to interfere with legislation drafted by the state.
Mr Pawar was part of a meeting held by newly-appointed leader of Rajya Sabha and Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday, ahead of the Parliament session. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, too, attended it. Another all-party meeting will be held tomorrow.