A fresh political row erupted after Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen for an NCP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in Maharashtra after the October 2019 Assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict.

Pawar referred to his meeting with the PM on November 20, 2019, at the release of a coffee table book, "Ashtavadhani" launched by The Indian Express Group's 'Loksatta' Marathi daily, and released by Bharat Force MD Baba Kalyani, as part of the NCP supremo's 81st birthday celebrations. At that time, Pawar had confirmed how Modi wanted NCP-BJP to "work together" and even offered a central Cabinet berth to his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule.