NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar meets Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

An official said that issues pertaining to irrigation, milk prices and sugar factories were discussed during the meeting, held at the state government guest house.

Mumbai: Amid the widening rift between the Marathas and OBCs, veteran politician and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday.

Neither Pawar nor Shinde has commented on the meeting which was held at the Sahyadri Guest House at Malabar Hill here.

“During this meeting, they had an in-depth discussion on various issues, including water resources, milk prices, and some pending matters related to sugar factories,” the Shiv Sena said in a brief statement.

Whether the Maratha-vs-OBCs reservation issue was discussed is not yet officially known.

The BJP-led Maha Yuti government was trying to reach out to Pawar on the issue of reservation.

Last week, the state's Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister and senior NCP leader went to meet Pawar at his Mumbai residence a day after he hit out at his former party chief.

“….Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (had) convened an all-party meeting in Mumbai to discuss the reservation issue. Everything was fine, however, around 5 pm, someone called from Baramati and the opposition (Maha Vikas Aghadi) leaders backed out.We wanted to resolve the issue…how to sort out the issue…how justice can be given…I spoke to Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress, I spoke to Jitendra Awhad of NCP (SP)…I also wanted Sharad Pawar Saheb to come…he is a senior leader and he can play a role in resolving the issue,” he said.

During his meeting with Pawar, Bhujbal requested him to take a lead and resolve the issue so that the rift between the two communities could be put to an end.