Political rumours are once again ripe as PM Modi on Saturday met NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and Karnataka CM Yediyurappa. While speculations on Mr. Pawar being the face of opposition for the 2024 Elections were already piling up, the NCP Supremo dismissed all the rumours pertaining to that.

It should be noted that Pawar had also met political strategist Prashant Kishor along with Rashtra Mancha – a cross party platform earlier in June this year.

Contents hide
1. Details
2. NCP’s Unhappiness with Ministry of Cooperation
3. Meeting Prashant Kishor
4. Sharad Pawar – the 2024 Face of Opposition?
5. CM Yediyurappa’s Meeting with PM Modi

Details

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar today met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg (formerly known as the 7, Race Course Road), New Delhi. The meeting lasted for as many as 50 minutes with both the sides discussing issues of “national importance”.

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After the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted the confirmation of the PM meeting the NCP chief and wrote, “Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sharad Pawar met PM Narendra Modi,” with a picture of the two leaders. While the details of the meeting are still behind the veil of political secrets, NCP sources claimed that the two discussed about Ministry of Cooperation that was recently formed.

The Ministry of Cooperation was formed before the much-awaited Modi Cabinet reshuffle. As per ANI, the ministry’s aim is to provide a separate administration and policy framework which will strengthen the cooperative movement. The ministry is head by the current Union Home Minister, Amit Shah.

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NCP’s Unhappiness with Ministry of Cooperation

After the Ministry’s formulation was announced, Mr. Pawar had commented that the Centre had no right to interfere with the legislation that was drafted by Maharashtra as the laws of the Ministry of Cooperation have been framed in the Maharashtra assembly.

It should be noted that the meeting between the two political mavericks comes just a few days before the Monsoon Session for the parliament. The meeting is also speculated to have come amid the conflicts in the Shiv-Sena led MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) alliance, of which NCP too is a constituent. NCP has as many as 62 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly while Shiv Sena has 57.

Meeting Prashant Kishor

For the politically unversed, 80-year-old Sharad Pawar was recently in news after he met political strategist Prashant Kishor to discuss a 3rd or 4th front led opposition against the Bharatiya Janata Party. The same week, the NCP supremo also met leaders of opposition parties and had called a meeting of Rashtra Manch – a cross party platform – at his own residence.

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Sharad Pawar – the 2024 Face of Opposition?

Due to those meetings, rumours of Pawar being the face of the opposition for the 2024 elections were ripe and up for grabs. However, Mr. Pawar claimed that his party had made no decision on the 2024 elections as “the political situation keeps changing.”

CM Yediyurappa’s Meeting with PM Modi

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa too met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. He also met the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President J.P. Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. According to reports, sources claimed that the CM discussed several development projects in Karnataka with the Centre leadership.

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It should also be noted that Yediyurappa has been rumoured to be stepping down as the Karnataka Chief Minister owing to several reports of resentment for him among BJP MLAs. However, after the meeting, the Karnataka CM spoke to reporters and dismissed all such rumours and said, “I don’t know of any rumour about leadership change. You tell me.

Rumours regarding his resignations comes after several MLAs and ministers have demanded him to step down as state Chief Minister.