Will Sharad Pawar join hands with farmers’ union leader?

MUMBAI: Shetkari Sanghatana chief Sharad Joshi has dropped hints about a possible tie-up with NCP chief Sharad Pawar to take on the BJP government on farmers’ issues. Should the Pawar-Joshi partnership materialize, it would flag off a new political equation in the state.
Joshi plans to launch a stir against the BJP government to demand greater remuneration price for cotton growers, and he has sought the NCP’s support.The Shetkari Sanghatana workers will begin the “thiyya” (sit-in) protest outside the Nagpur residence of CM Devendra Fadnavis on November 30, Joshi announced. The government should waive the debt-ridden farmers’ loans, he added.
Incidentally, Pawar too has over the last few weeks been harping on the same theme. Addressing a meeting in Karad on Tuesday, Pawar said he expected the BJP government to provide relief to farmers following drought in the state.
The two stalwarts shared the dais at the Y B Chavan Centre later in the day when Pawar handed over the Y B Chavan award to Joshi in recognition of his role in re-shaping Maharashtra’s agricultural agenda. “I am starting a crusade on the farmers’ issues and I want the NCP to support us,” Joshi said. In his concluding speech, Pawar chose to be silent on Joshi’s suggestion. But he heaped rich praise on the former World Bank economist for his commitment to farmers’ problems. Praising Joshi for his relentless struggle for three decades to improve the lot of Maharashtra farmers, Pawar said Joshi had initiated a nationwide discourse on issues close to the heart of the agrarian community, such as support price, global market for agricultural produce and infrastructure facilities.