MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and discussed issues concerning farmers, including rising suicides, minimum support price (MSP), crop insurance and irrigation, amid speculation over the party's possible support to the BJP-led NDA.
NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule was also present at the meeting.
According to the party, Pawar submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister highlighting the agrarian crisis and seeking measures to address farmer suicides, improve crop insurance, ensure MSP for farmers and expedite irrigation projects.
The memorandum called for effective steps to prevent farmer suicides, immediate financial assistance to affected families, faster investigations into such cases and the provision of mental health support.
It also sought greater transparency in irrigation and water projects through third-party audits, the early completion of stalled projects, legal assurance of MSP for all farmers, direct transfer of crop insurance compensation to farmers' bank accounts and strict action against companies selling fake or substandard seeds.
The meeting came a day after Pawar visited the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar, where he met party chief Abhijeet Dipke and enquired about the students' demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged medical examination paper leak.
The meeting with Modi also fuelled political speculation over the NCP (SP)'s future stance towards the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Sources claimed the BJP leadership was exploring the possibility of securing the NCP (SP)'s support, particularly on key legislation such as the proposed delimitation bill. However, there has been no official confirmation from either side.
According to the sources, Pawar shares a cordial relationship with Prime Minister Modi and maintains open channels of communication despite political differences.
The sources also pointed to Supriya Sule's recent remarks indicating that the party could support a delimitation exercise if Lok Sabha seats are increased proportionately across states, rather than being allocated solely on the basis of population.
However, NCP (SP) Maharashtra president Shashikant Shinde dismissed suggestions that the meeting had any political agenda.
"Pawar Saheb and Supriya Sule must have met the Prime Minister to discuss the students' demands after his visit to the Jantar Mantar protest. The students' movement should not be suppressed, and their voices must be heard. I don't think there was any political discussion beyond that," Shinde said.
Neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the NCP (SP) officially commented on any political discussions during the meeting. The party maintained that the primary purpose of the meeting was to raise issues affecting farmers and discuss concerns related to the ongoing student protests.