MUMBAI, July 17 -- The buzz that the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) could join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), either directly or indirectly, gathered steam, as on Thursday evening senior party leaders Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad met deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde at his official residence, Nandanvan, at Malabar Hill.

The closed door meeting between the three leaders lasted for about an hour, said people aware of the matter. Shinde, it is believed, postponed his scheduled departure to New Delhi for a meeting of NDA allies to be chaired by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, in order to meet the two leaders in Mumbai.

Although it is not know...