Amravati (Maharashtra): The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar dropped in for ‘chai pe charcha’ at the residence of Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) chief, Omprakash Balasaheb Kadu, alias Bachu Kadu, here on Thursday.
Significantly, Kadu, a four-time independent MLA from Achalpur, was a Minister of State (MoS) in the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), but had changed sides to join the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in June 2022, and is presently the de facto leader of the pressure group of independents supporting the ruling MahaYuti regime.
The Pawar-Kadu duo was closeted for around 20 minutes alone for discussions, the agenda of which is not yet known, sparking political speculation as Kadu has been mildly critical of the ruling MahaYuti alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-NCP (AP).
On his part, Kadu told mediapersons that besides some social-political matters, they mostly discussed agriculture issues and he suggested to Pawar that all farming activities must be brought under the Employment Guarantee Scheme.
To a pointed query on whether they discussed politics against the backdrop of the 2024 elections, Kadu denied, but dropped hints saying, “even if we talked about political matters, I shall not disclose it to the media”.
“We cannot reveal everything in public… As long as CM Shinde is there, I am not going anywhere… There are no clouds right now, when they gather, we will see what to do,” he said in a lighter vein.
Pawar merely smiled and said that when Kadu learnt of his two-day visit to Amravati, he invited him to meet over a cup of tea.
“There is no political agenda… If an MLA invites me for tea to his home, there is no need for any speculation,” said the 83-year-old NCP supremo.
–IANS