BARAMATI: PM Narendra Modi was all praise for NCP founder Sharad Pawar here on Saturday, saying he used to seek the veteran leader's advice as Gujarat chief minister and has been in regular touch with him since moving to Delhi.

The eulogy is in sharp contrast with his stand before last year's assembly poll when he described NCP as the "naturally corrupt party". Modi not only shared the dais with the NCP chief at several functions, but also had lunch with him. Political observers said they would not be surprised if sooner or later, NCP joined the government in Delhi and Mumbai.

Though both leaders said no political meaning should be read into their meeting, it appears that an emerging pattern is that the two parties cosy up to each other whenever BJP's ally Shiv Sena tries to assert itself. 

"Very few people know I would speak to Pawar at least 2-3 times a month and there is hardly any month when we had not spoken. When I was CM and needed to negotiate with the Centre (for any proposal/project), I would seek his advice," Modi said.

"... the media ... will keenly observe what I had said earlier and what I say today. They will even check out what Pawar had said. This is the beauty of democracy. We have 'vivad' (dispute) and 'samvad' (dialogue). But when leaders of two parties meet, it becomes news. In fact, the process of dialogue needs to be continuous. Though we are from different parties and have different agendas, for both of us, the country stands first, over and above parties and ideologies," Modi said.

Pawar, in his part, urged Modi to revoke the ban on export of sugar, ensure fair price for milk and include the dhangar (shepherd) community in the scheduled tribes (ST) category.