Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has raised intriguing questions regarding NCP chief Sharad Pawar's engagement with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019. Fadnavis has publicly inquired whether Pawar's approach to the BJP back then was motivated by concerns about investigations by central probe agencies, a report in PTI stated. 

This inquiry comes on the heels of Pawar's recent criticism of the rebel Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by his nephew, Ajit Pawar. The nephew, along with his faction, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra in July. Sharad Pawar remarked that those switching to the BJP had no genuine affiliation with the NCP and had done so primarily out of fear of investigation agencies.