Sharad Pawar Meets Modi Amid Student Protests and Farm Crisis

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and MP Supriya Sule met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on July 22, 2026, during the Monsoon session of Parliament. Pawar submitted a memorandum urging the central government to address Maharashtra's agrarian crisis, specifically citing erratic rainfall and farmer suicides in Vidarbha and Marathwada, while demanding third-party audits of irrigation projects and the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The meeting followed Pawar's participation on July 21 in protests at Jantar Mantar organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) regarding the NEET-UG paper leak. Pawar urged the government to sensitively consider the demands of peaceful protesters and echoed calls for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He condemned the use of tear gas and batons against marchers during a Monday 'Sansad Chalo' event.

Simultaneously, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused opposition leaders of using youth as "political tools" and creating a "manufactured sense of anger" to resolve issues on the streets rather than in Parliament. This followed a sit-in protest by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra outside the Prime Minister's residence. In the Rajya Sabha, opposition leaders led by Mallikarjun Kharge demanded Pradhan's resignation as a prerequisite for discussing the leak.

The high-profile meeting sparked speculation that the NCP (SP) might join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or support the Delimitation Bill. However, Supriya Sule and party president Shashikant Shinde denied receiving any proposal to join the NDA. While Sule suggested conditional support for the bill if state seats increased by 50%, MLA Rohit Pawar labeled such a prospect a "trap."