PUNE: Sharing the dais with Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP ) chief Sharad Pawar in Baramati, prime minister Narendra Modi described Pawar as a visionary and disclosed that he has been taking advice from Pawar on matters regularly since he came to power in Delhi nine months ago.Modi’s open praise of Pawar has surprised many in Maharashtra because just months ago — during the state Assembly poll campaign — Modi had bitterly attacked Pawar calling his party corrupt. Modi spent several hours in Pawar’s hometown and his daughter Supriya Sule’s Lok Sabha constituency Baramati on Saturday, and inaugurated two agro-facilities set up by trusts run by Pawar.Speaking at a public function in Baramati, Modi said: “Sharad Pawar and I may have had different paths but our goals are the same. Both of us want development of our country and welfare of our people. Pawar is a visionary. I have known him for many years. His knowledge of agriculture and many other sectors is phenomenal. Since I took over in Delhi in May last year I have been speaking with Pawar on phone on a regular basis and have been taking his advise on various matters.”Sharad Pawar’s NCP had given outside support to the minority BJP government after the state Assembly elections to prove its numbers in the house. Later when Shiv Sena joined the government, NCP became the opposition party in the state Assembly. The relationship between coalition partners Shiv Sena and the BJP has been a roller-coaster ride in Maharashtra in the past few months.Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s anti-BJP statements after the recent results of the Delhi polls annoyed the state BJP in Maharashtra and the Mumbai city chief of the BJP even challenged the Sena to quit from the coalition government.