BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who is the leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Monday met NCP top leader Sharad Pawar at his Mumbai residence, raising eyebrows in the political corridors.

Sharing a photo of the meeting, Mr Fadnavis tweeted: “Met Former Union Minister and senior leader Shri Sharad Pawar Ji at his residence in Mumbai this morning. This was courtesy meeting”. Fadnavis had gone to inquire about Mr Pawar’s health after his recent gall bladder surgery.

The meeting between Sharad Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis has raised many eyebrows inside as well as outside the political circles after Fadnavis shared a picture of the meeting on his social handles.

The meeting took place at a time Maharastra is witnessing high voltage politics over Maratha quota in jobs and education. Mr Fadnavis and Maharastra BJP president Chandrakant Patil have been very aggressive in targeting the Uddhav Thackery government for its handling of the sensitive subject.

Mr Fadnavis has also been critical of the state government over its handling of the Covid second surge. Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik insisted, “it was a courtesy call. Don’t read too much into this meeting. In Maharashtra, the government and opposition are not enemies. They keep on meeting each other”.

Last month, the Supreme Court called the quota “unconstitutional”, pointing out that the 2018 law had pushed reservations over the 50 per cent cap. Mr Pawar’s party shares power with the Shiv Sena and the Congress in Maharastra. In 2019, his challenges to the Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena coalition became the theme of the Maharashtra election.

In the past two years, wrinkles have emerged in the Sena-NCP tie-up; recently Mr Thackeray reportedly held discussions with Mr Pawar over his differences with NCP minister Jayant Patil.

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TOPICS: Politics