The developments came within hours of each other, catching political observers off guard. Pawar dismissed persistent speculation about a reunion between his NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which broke away in 2023 and now sits within the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. Having firmly closed that door, Pawar then extended an invitation to PM Modi to visit Baramati — a move that immediately raised questions given Pawar's continued position within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, alongside Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).

This isn't the first time Pawar's engagement with Modi has generated friction within his own alliance. He has a long history of maintaining a working personal relationship with the Prime Minister even while sitting in opposition — including sharing a stage with Modi at a Pune award ceremony in 2023, despite objections from Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) at the time, and hosting Modi at agricultural institutions in Baramati on separate occasions in past years. Pawar has consistently defended such engagements as separate from party politics, often citing prior commitments or his role heading non-political institutions like the Vasantdada Sugar Institute and Vidya Pratisthan.

The latest invitation comes at a politically sensitive moment, with speculation already swirling around Pawar's positioning following recent shifts in Maharashtra's political landscape, including the ongoing upheaval within Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and broader questions about opposition unity nationally. Political commentators in Maharashtra have noted that Pawar's dual move — rejecting a merger with his nephew's faction while simultaneously reaching out to Modi — sends a somewhat contradictory signal about where his politics are actually headed.

Neither Congress nor Shiv Sena (UBT), Pawar's MVA allies, had issued a public response to the Baramati invitation at the time of publishing. Whether Modi accepts the invitation, and what timeline any such visit might follow, remains unconfirmed.