Mumbai: NCP President Sharad Pawar has welcomed the Maharashtra Government’s changes to the farm loan waiver scheme, saying the decision will benefit millions of farmers. He also thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the move.

Sharad Pawar said that lakhs of farmers would have suffered losses if the Maharashtra Government had not revised the farm loan waiver scheme. He said the government had introduced the scheme in response to natural disasters and falling crop prices, but its original conditions meant that many farmers would have been excluded from receiving the benefit.

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Pawar noted that the 2019 Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme capped relief at Rs 50,000, while the revised scheme also required regular repayment of crop loans during 2025–26 and 2026–27.

According to Pawar, these conditions would have kept millions of farmers out of the scheme. He thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for removing the restrictions, saying the decision reflected the concerns of the state’s farming community.

Meanwhile, speculation continues over whether Pawar’s NCP could join the NDA or merge with the Congress. However, the party’s Maharashtra President, Shashikant Shinde, dismissed the reports as mere rumours.

According to sources, several leaders within Pawar’s party are opposed to joining the NDA, with some reportedly expressing their disagreement.

The speculation intensified after Pawar attended a meeting on the Maharashtra–Karnataka border dispute at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on 8 July. He later met party MLAs in Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s office, fuelling further political speculation.