diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c
index 79cc61092..85a217020 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c
@@ -520,6 +520,30 @@ IsCitusTableTypeCacheEntry(CitusTableCacheEntry *tableEntry, CitusTableType tabl
 									tableEntry->colocationId, tableType);
 }
 
+/*
+* IsFirstShard returns true if the given shardId is the first shard.
+*/
+bool
+IsFirstShard(CitusTableCacheEntry *tableEntry, uint64 shardId)
+{
+        if (tableEntry == NULL || tableEntry->sortedShardIntervalArray == NULL)
+        {
+                return false;
+        }
+        if (tableEntry->sortedShardIntervalArray[0]->shardId == INVALID_SHARD_ID)
+        {
+                return false;
+        }
+
+        if (shardId == tableEntry->sortedShardIntervalArray[0]->shardId)
+        {
+                return true;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+                return false;
+        }
+}
 
 /*
  * HasDistributionKey returns true if given Citus table has a distribution key.
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c
index c8ab2a4b3..5dc533a7f 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c
@@ -316,6 +316,36 @@ BuildSelectStatementViaStdPlanner(Query *combineQuery, List *remoteScanTargetLis
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE is a helper function that stores rangeTblEntry
+ * to result if it has citus extra data container.
+ *
+ * The function returns true if it finds the RTE, and false otherwise.
+ */
+bool
+ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE(RangeTblEntry *rangeTblEntry, RangeTblEntry **result)
+{
+        if (rangeTblEntry->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION &&
+                list_length(rangeTblEntry->functions) == 1)
+        {
+                RangeTblFunction *rangeTblFunction = (RangeTblFunction *) linitial(
+                        rangeTblEntry->functions);
+                if (!IsA(rangeTblFunction->funcexpr, FuncExpr))
+                {
+                        return false;
+                }
+                FuncExpr *funcExpr = castNode(FuncExpr, rangeTblFunction->funcexpr);
+                if (funcExpr->funcid == CitusExtraDataContainerFuncId())
+                {
+                        *result = rangeTblEntry;
+                        return true;
+                }
+        }
+
+        return false;
+}
+
+
 /*
  * Finds the rangetable entry in the query that refers to the citus_extradata_container
  * and stores the pointer in result.
@@ -331,25 +361,7 @@ FindCitusExtradataContainerRTE(Node *node, RangeTblEntry **result)
 	if (IsA(node, RangeTblEntry))
 	{
 		RangeTblEntry *rangeTblEntry = castNode(RangeTblEntry, node);
-		if (rangeTblEntry->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION &&
-			list_length(rangeTblEntry->functions) == 1)
-		{
-			RangeTblFunction *rangeTblFunction = (RangeTblFunction *) linitial(
-				rangeTblEntry->functions);
-			if (!IsA(rangeTblFunction->funcexpr, FuncExpr))
-			{
-				return false;
-			}
-			FuncExpr *funcExpr = castNode(FuncExpr, rangeTblFunction->funcexpr);
-			if (funcExpr->funcid == CitusExtraDataContainerFuncId())
-			{
-				*result = rangeTblEntry;
-				return true;
-			}
-		}
-
-		/* query_tree_walker descends into RTEs */
-		return false;
+		return ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE(rangeTblEntry, result);
 	}
 	else if (IsA(node, Query))
 	{
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c
index 2542d931a..8a88f922c 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include "access/heapam.h"
 #include "access/htup_details.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_constraint.h"
+#include "catalog/pg_operator.h"
 #include "lib/stringinfo.h"
 #include "nodes/makefuncs.h"
 #include "nodes/nodeFuncs.h"
@@ -33,11 +34,13 @@
 #include "distributed/combine_query_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/deparse_shard_query.h"
 #include "distributed/insert_select_planner.h"
+#include "distributed/query_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/listutils.h"
 #include "distributed/local_executor.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_physical_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_router_planner.h"
+#include "distributed/recursive_planning.h"
 #include "distributed/shard_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/stats/stat_tenants.h"
 #include "distributed/version_compat.h"
@@ -203,6 +206,202 @@ UpdateTaskQueryString(Query *query, Task *task)
 	SetTaskQueryIfShouldLazyDeparse(task, query);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Iterates through the FROM clause of the query and checks if there is a join
+ * expr with a reference and distributed table.
+ * If there is, it adds the index of the range table entry of the outer
+ * table in the join clause to the constraintIndexes list. It also sets the
+ * innerRte to point to the range table entry inner table.
+*/
+bool ExtractIndexesForConstaints(List *fromList, List *rtable,
+								 int *outerRtIndex, RangeTblEntry **distRte)
+{
+	ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("******")));
+	ListCell *fromExprCell;
+	
+	// Check the first element of the from clause, the rest is already handled
+	foreach(fromExprCell, fromList)
+	{
+		Node *fromElement = (Node *) lfirst(fromExprCell);
+
+		if (IsA(fromElement, JoinExpr))
+		{
+			JoinExpr *joinExpr = (JoinExpr *) fromElement;
+			if(!IS_OUTER_JOIN(joinExpr->jointype))
+			{
+				continue;
+			}
+			*outerRtIndex = (((RangeTblRef *)joinExpr->larg)->rtindex);
+			RangeTblEntry *outerRte = rt_fetch(*outerRtIndex, rtable);
+
+			if(!IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(outerRte))
+			{
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			if (!CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated((Node *)joinExpr->rarg, rtable, distRte))
+			{
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			return true;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin walks over the query tree and appends quals 
+ * to the WHERE clause to filter w.r.to the distribution column of the corresponding shard. 
+ * TODO:
+ *     - Not supported cases should not call this function. 
+ *     - Remove the excessive debug messages.
+ */
+bool
+UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin(Node *node, List *relationShardList)
+{
+	if (node == NULL)
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	if (!IsA(node, Query))
+	{
+		return expression_tree_walker(node, UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin, relationShardList);
+	}
+
+	Query *query = (Query *) node;
+	if (query->jointree == NULL)
+	{
+		return query_tree_walker(query, UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin, relationShardList, 0);
+	}
+
+	FromExpr *fromExpr = query->jointree;
+	if(fromExpr == NULL)
+	{
+		return query_tree_walker(query, UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin, relationShardList, 0);
+	}
+
+	/*
+	* We need to find the outer table in the join clause to add the constraints w.r.to the shard 
+	* intervals of the inner table.
+	* A representative inner table is sufficient as long as it is colocated with all other
+	* distributed tables in the join clause.
+	*/
+	RangeTblEntry *innerRte = NULL;
+	int outerRtIndex = -1;
+	bool result = ExtractIndexesForConstaints(fromExpr->fromlist, query->rtable, &outerRtIndex, &innerRte);
+	if (!result)
+	{
+		ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("ExtractIndexesForConstaints: failed to extract indexes")));
+		return query_tree_walker(query, UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin, relationShardList, 0);
+	}
+	
+	ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("\t Distributed table from the inner part: %s", innerRte->eref->aliasname)));
+
+
+	RelationShard *relationShard = FindRelationShard(innerRte->relid, relationShardList);
+	uint64 shardId = relationShard->shardId;
+	Oid relationId = relationShard->relationId;
+
+	CitusTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry = GetCitusTableCacheEntry(relationId);
+	Var *partitionColumnVar = cacheEntry->partitionColumn;
+
+	/* 
+	* we will add constraints for the outer table, so we need to set the varno
+	* TODO: this only works when the outer table has the distribution column,
+	* we shoul not end up here if this is not the case.
+	*/
+	partitionColumnVar->varno = outerRtIndex;
+	bool isFirstShard = IsFirstShard(cacheEntry, shardId);
+	
+	/* load the interval for the shard and create constant nodes for the upper/lower bounds */
+	ShardInterval *shardInterval = LoadShardInterval(shardId);
+	Const *constNodeLowerBound = makeConst(INT4OID, -1, InvalidOid, sizeof(int32), shardInterval->minValue, false, true);
+	Const *constNodeUpperBound = makeConst(INT4OID, -1, InvalidOid, sizeof(int32), shardInterval->maxValue, false, true);
+	Const *constNodeZero = makeConst(INT4OID, -1, InvalidOid, sizeof(int32), Int32GetDatum(0), false, true);
+
+	//  TOOD: the following is only for hash partitioned tables
+	/* create a function expression node for the hash partition column */ 
+	FuncExpr *hashFunction = makeNode(FuncExpr);
+	hashFunction->funcid = cacheEntry->hashFunction->fn_oid;
+	hashFunction->args = list_make1(partitionColumnVar);
+	hashFunction->funcresulttype = get_func_rettype(cacheEntry->hashFunction->fn_oid);
+	hashFunction->funcretset = false;
+
+	/* create a function expression for the lower bound of the shard interval */
+	Oid resultTypeOid = get_func_rettype(cacheEntry->shardIntervalCompareFunction->fn_oid);
+	FuncExpr* lowerBoundFuncExpr = makeNode(FuncExpr);
+	lowerBoundFuncExpr->funcid = cacheEntry->shardIntervalCompareFunction->fn_oid;
+	lowerBoundFuncExpr->args = list_make2((Node *) constNodeLowerBound, (Node *) hashFunction);
+	lowerBoundFuncExpr->funcresulttype = resultTypeOid;
+	lowerBoundFuncExpr->funcretset = false;
+
+	Oid lessThan = GetSysCacheOid(OPERNAMENSP, Anum_pg_operator_oid, CStringGetDatum("<"), 
+								  resultTypeOid, resultTypeOid, ObjectIdGetDatum(11));
+
+	/* 
+	 * Finally, check if the comparison result is less than 0, i.e., 
+	 * shardInterval->minValue < hash(partitionColumn)
+	 * See SearchCachedShardInterval for the behavior at the boundaries.
+	 */  
+	Expr *lowerBoundExpr = make_opclause(lessThan, BOOLOID, false, (Expr *) lowerBoundFuncExpr,
+										 (Expr *) constNodeZero, InvalidOid, InvalidOid);
+
+	/* create a function expression for the upper bound of the shard interval */
+	FuncExpr* upperBoundFuncExpr = makeNode(FuncExpr);
+	upperBoundFuncExpr->funcid = cacheEntry->shardIntervalCompareFunction->fn_oid;
+	upperBoundFuncExpr->args = list_make2((Node *) hashFunction, (Expr *) constNodeUpperBound);
+	upperBoundFuncExpr->funcresulttype = resultTypeOid;
+	upperBoundFuncExpr->funcretset = false;
+
+	Oid lessThanOrEqualTo = GetSysCacheOid(OPERNAMENSP, Anum_pg_operator_oid, CStringGetDatum("<="), 
+									resultTypeOid, resultTypeOid, ObjectIdGetDatum(11));
+	
+
+	/* 
+	 * Finally, check if the comparison result is less than or equal to 0, i.e., 
+	 * hash(partitionColumn) <= shardInterval->maxValue
+	 * See SearchCachedShardInterval for the behavior at the boundaries.
+	 */  
+	Expr *upperBoundExpr = make_opclause(lessThanOrEqualTo, BOOLOID, false, (Expr *) upperBoundFuncExpr,
+										 (Expr *) constNodeZero, InvalidOid, InvalidOid);
+
+
+	/* create a node for both upper and lower bound */
+	Node *shardIntervalBoundQuals = make_and_qual((Node *) lowerBoundExpr, (Node *) upperBoundExpr);
+
+	/* 
+	 * Add a null test for the partition column for the first shard. 
+	 * This is because we need to include the null values in exactly one of the shard queries.
+	 * The null test is added as an OR clause to the existing AND clause.
+	 */
+	if (isFirstShard)
+	{
+		/* null test for the first shard */
+		NullTest *nullTest = makeNode(NullTest);
+		nullTest->nulltesttype = IS_NULL;  /* Check for IS NULL */
+		nullTest->arg = (Expr *) partitionColumnVar;  /* The variable to check */
+		nullTest->argisrow = false;
+		shardIntervalBoundQuals = (Node *) make_orclause(list_make2(nullTest, shardIntervalBoundQuals));
+	}
+
+	if (fromExpr->quals == NULL)
+	{
+		fromExpr->quals = (Node *) shardIntervalBoundQuals;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		fromExpr->quals = make_and_qual(fromExpr->quals, shardIntervalBoundQuals);
+	}
+
+	// TODO: verify this, do we need the recursive call for all nodes? 
+	/* We need to continue the recursive walk for the nested join statements.*/
+	return query_tree_walker(query, UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin, relationShardList, 0);
+}
+
 
 /*
  * UpdateRelationToShardNames walks over the query tree and appends shard ids to
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/multi_physical_planner.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/multi_physical_planner.c
index dee3464cf..ddea8df87 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/multi_physical_planner.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/multi_physical_planner.c
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ static Task * QueryPushdownTaskCreate(Query *originalQuery, int shardIndex,
 									  uint32 taskId,
 									  TaskType taskType,
 									  bool modifyRequiresCoordinatorEvaluation,
+									  bool innerTableOfOuterJoin,
 									  DeferredErrorMessage **planningError);
 static List * SqlTaskList(Job *job);
 static bool DependsOnHashPartitionJob(Job *job);
@@ -2183,6 +2184,8 @@ QueryPushdownSqlTaskList(Query *query, uint64 jobId,
 	int minShardOffset = INT_MAX;
 	int prevShardCount = 0;
 	Bitmapset *taskRequiredForShardIndex = NULL;
+	Bitmapset *innerTableOfOuterJoinSet = NULL;
+	bool innerTableOfOuterJoin = false;
 
 	/* error if shards are not co-partitioned */
 	ErrorIfUnsupportedShardDistribution(query);
@@ -2220,20 +2223,17 @@ QueryPushdownSqlTaskList(Query *query, uint64 jobId,
 			return NIL;
 		}
 		prevShardCount = cacheEntry->shardIntervalArrayLength;
-
+		innerTableOfOuterJoin = false;
 		/*
-		 * For left joins we don't care about the shards pruned for the right hand side.
-		 * If the right hand side would prune to a smaller set we should still send it to
-		 * all tables of the left hand side. However if the right hand side is bigger than
-		 * the left hand side we don't have to send the query to any shard that is not
-		 * matching anything on the left hand side.
-		 *
-		 * Instead we will simply skip any RelationRestriction if it is an OUTER join and
-		 * the table is part of the non-outer side of the join.
+		 * For left outer joins, we need to check if the table is in the inner
+		 * part of the join. If it is, we need to mark this shard and add interval
+		 * constraints to the join.
 		 */
 		if (IsInnerTableOfOuterJoin(relationRestriction))
 		{
-			continue;
+			ereport(DEBUG1, errmsg("Inner Table of Outer Join %d",
+								   relationRestriction->relationId));
+			innerTableOfOuterJoin = true;
 		}
 
 		ShardInterval *shardInterval = NULL;
@@ -2244,6 +2244,15 @@ QueryPushdownSqlTaskList(Query *query, uint64 jobId,
 			taskRequiredForShardIndex =
 				bms_add_member(taskRequiredForShardIndex, shardIndex);
 			minShardOffset = Min(minShardOffset, shardIndex);
+			if (innerTableOfOuterJoin)
+			{
+				/*
+				 * We need to keep track of the inner table of outer join
+				 * shards so that we can process them later.
+				 */
+				innerTableOfOuterJoinSet =
+					bms_add_member(innerTableOfOuterJoinSet, shardIndex);
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -2261,11 +2270,13 @@ QueryPushdownSqlTaskList(Query *query, uint64 jobId,
 	int shardOffset = minShardOffset - 1;
 	while ((shardOffset = bms_next_member(taskRequiredForShardIndex, shardOffset)) >= 0)
 	{
+		innerTableOfOuterJoin = bms_is_member(shardOffset, innerTableOfOuterJoinSet);
 		Task *subqueryTask = QueryPushdownTaskCreate(query, shardOffset,
 													 relationRestrictionContext,
 													 taskIdIndex,
 													 taskType,
 													 modifyRequiresCoordinatorEvaluation,
+													 innerTableOfOuterJoin,
 													 planningError);
 		if (*planningError != NULL)
 		{
@@ -2439,6 +2450,7 @@ static Task *
 QueryPushdownTaskCreate(Query *originalQuery, int shardIndex,
 						RelationRestrictionContext *restrictionContext, uint32 taskId,
 						TaskType taskType, bool modifyRequiresCoordinatorEvaluation,
+						bool innerTableOfOuterJoin,
 						DeferredErrorMessage **planningError)
 {
 	Query *taskQuery = copyObject(originalQuery);
@@ -2531,11 +2543,21 @@ QueryPushdownTaskCreate(Query *originalQuery, int shardIndex,
 	 */
 	UpdateRelationToShardNames((Node *) taskQuery, relationShardList);
 
+	/*
+	 * Augment the where clause with the shard intervals for inner table of outer
+	 * joins.
+	 */
+	if (innerTableOfOuterJoin)
+	{
+		UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin((Node *) taskQuery, relationShardList);
+	}
+
 	/*
 	 * Ands are made implicit during shard pruning, as predicate comparison and
 	 * refutation depend on it being so. We need to make them explicit again so
 	 * that the query string is generated as (...) AND (...) as opposed to
 	 * (...), (...).
+	 * TODO: do we need to run this before adding quals? 
 	 */
 	if (taskQuery->jointree->quals != NULL && IsA(taskQuery->jointree->quals, List))
 	{
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/query_pushdown_planning.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/query_pushdown_planning.c
index 5317e578d..48375ae22 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/query_pushdown_planning.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/query_pushdown_planning.c
@@ -834,6 +834,11 @@ DeferredErrorIfUnsupportedRecurringTuplesJoin(
 				 * contains recurring rels, must be an unsupported lateral outer
 				 * join.
 				 */
+				/* 
+				* For now only stop returning an error here.
+				* TODO: later add all required checks to push down the query here
+				*/
+				continue;
 				recurType = FetchFirstRecurType(plannerInfo, outerrelRelids);
 
 				break;
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c
index d65a64410..3c6690bde 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@
 
 #include "distributed/citus_nodes.h"
 #include "distributed/citus_ruleutils.h"
+#include "distributed/combine_query_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/commands/multi_copy.h"
 #include "distributed/distributed_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/errormessage.h"
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@
 #include "distributed/multi_server_executor.h"
 #include "distributed/query_colocation_checker.h"
 #include "distributed/query_pushdown_planning.h"
+#include "distributed/query_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/recursive_planning.h"
 #include "distributed/relation_restriction_equivalence.h"
 #include "distributed/shard_pruning.h"
@@ -104,6 +106,7 @@ struct RecursivePlanningContextInternal
 	bool allDistributionKeysInQueryAreEqual; /* used for some optimizations */
 	List *subPlanList;
 	PlannerRestrictionContext *plannerRestrictionContext;
+	bool restrictionEquivalenceCheck;
 };
 
 /* track depth of current recursive planner query */
@@ -640,6 +643,35 @@ RecursivelyPlanNonColocatedSubqueriesInWhere(Query *query,
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * Returns true if the given node is recurring, or the node is a 
+ * JoinExpr that contains a recurring node.
+*/
+static bool
+JoinExprHasNonRecurringTable(Node *node, Query *query)
+{
+	if (node == NULL)
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+	else if (IsA(node, RangeTblRef))
+	{
+		return IsRTERefRecurring((RangeTblRef *) node, query);
+	}
+	else if (IsA(node, JoinExpr))
+	{
+		JoinExpr *joinExpr = (JoinExpr *) node;
+
+		return JoinExprHasNonRecurringTable(joinExpr->larg, query) ||
+			   JoinExprHasNonRecurringTable(joinExpr->rarg, query);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+}
+
+
 /*
  * RecursivelyPlanRecurringTupleOuterJoinWalker descends into a join tree and
  * recursively plans all non-recurring (i.e., distributed) rels that that
@@ -708,13 +740,51 @@ RecursivelyPlanRecurringTupleOuterJoinWalker(Node *node, Query *query,
 			case JOIN_LEFT:
 			{
 				/* <recurring> left join <distributed> */
-				if (leftNodeRecurs && !rightNodeRecurs)
+
+				/* Recursively plan the right side of the left left join when the following 
+				 * conditions are met:
+				 * 1. The left side is recurring
+				 * 2. The right side is not recurring
+				 * 3. Either of the following:
+				 * 		a. The left side is not a RangeTblRef (i.e., it is not a reference/local table)
+				 * 		b. The tables in the rigt side are not colocated.
+				 * 5. The left side does not have the distribution column (TODO: CHECK THIS)
+				 */
+
+				if (leftNodeRecurs && !rightNodeRecurs)				
+				{	
+					int outerRtIndex = ((RangeTblRef *) leftNode)->rtindex;
+					RangeTblEntry *rte = rt_fetch(outerRtIndex, query->rtable);
+					RangeTblEntry *innerRte = NULL;
+					if (!IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(rte))
+					{
+						ereport(DEBUG1, (errmsg("recursively planning right side of "
+												"the left join since the outer side "
+												"is a recurring rel that is not an RTE")));
+						RecursivelyPlanDistributedJoinNode(rightNode, query,
+														   recursivePlanningContext);
+					}
+					else if (!CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated(rightNode, query->rtable, &innerRte))
+					{
+						ereport(DEBUG1, (errmsg("recursively planning right side of the left join "
+												"since tables in the inner side of the left "
+												"join are not colocated")));
+						RecursivelyPlanDistributedJoinNode(rightNode, query,
+									                       recursivePlanningContext);						
+					}
+				}
+				/*
+				* rightNodeRecurs if there is a recurring table in the right side. However, if the right side 
+				* is a join expression, we need to check if it contains a recurring table. If it does, we need to
+				* recursively plan the right side of the left join. Push-down path does not handle the nested joins
+				* yet, once we have that, we can remove this check.
+				*/
+				else if (leftNodeRecurs && rightNodeRecurs && JoinExprHasNonRecurringTable(rightNode, query))
 				{
-					ereport(DEBUG1, (errmsg("recursively planning right side of "
-											"the left join since the outer side "
-											"is a recurring rel")));
-					RecursivelyPlanDistributedJoinNode(rightNode, query,
-													   recursivePlanningContext);
+						ereport(DEBUG1, (errmsg("recursively planning right side of the left join "
+												"since right side is a joinexpr with non-recurring tables")));
+						RecursivelyPlanDistributedJoinNode(rightNode, query,
+									   					   recursivePlanningContext);	
 				}
 
 				/*
@@ -2583,3 +2653,35 @@ GeneratingSubplans(void)
 {
 	return recursivePlanningDepth > 0;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin returns true if the given range table entry 
+ * is safe for pushdown. Currently, we only allow RTE_RELATION and RTE_FUNCTION.
+ */
+bool IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(RangeTblEntry *rte)
+{
+	if (rte->rtekind == RTE_RELATION)
+	{
+		return true;
+	}
+	/* check if it is a citus table, e.g., ref table */
+	else if (rte->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION)
+	{
+		RangeTblEntry *newRte = NULL;
+		if(!ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE(rte, &newRte))
+		{
+			ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("RTE type %d is not safe for pushdown, function but it does not contain citus extradata",
+									rte->rtekind)));
+			return false;
+		}
+		return true;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("RTE type %d is not safe for pushdown",
+							    rte->rtekind)));
+		return false;
+	}
+	
+}
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c
index ac33bdd52..39efcbcb5 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@
 #include "catalog/pg_class.h"
 #include "nodes/nodeFuncs.h"
 #include "nodes/primnodes.h"
+#include "parser/parsetree.h"
 
 #include "distributed/listutils.h"
 #include "distributed/query_utils.h"
+#include "distributed/relation_restriction_equivalence.h"
 #include "distributed/version_compat.h"
 
 
@@ -178,3 +180,93 @@ ExtractRangeTableIndexWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableIndexList)
 
 	return walkerResult;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * ExtractRangeTableIds walks over the given node, and finds all range
+ * table entries.
+ */
+bool
+ExtractRangeTableIds(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableIdsContext *context)
+{
+	List **rangeTableList = context->idList;
+	List *rtable = context->rtable;
+
+	if (node == NULL)
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	if (IsA(node, RangeTblRef))
+	{
+		int rangeTableIndex = ((RangeTblRef *) node)->rtindex;
+
+		RangeTblEntry *rte = rt_fetch(rangeTableIndex, rtable);
+		if (rte->rtekind == RTE_SUBQUERY)
+		{
+			Query *subquery = rte->subquery;
+			context->rtable = subquery->rtable;
+			ExtractRangeTableIds((Node *) subquery, context);
+			context->rtable = rtable; /* restore original rtable */
+		}
+		else if (rte->rtekind == RTE_RELATION || rte->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION)
+		{
+			(*rangeTableList) = lappend(*rangeTableList, rte);
+			ereport(DEBUG4, (errmsg("ExtractRangeTableIds: found range table id %d", rte->relid)));
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			ereport(DEBUG4, (errmsg("Unsupported RTE kind in ExtractRangeTableIds %d", rte->rtekind)));
+		}
+		return false;
+	}
+	else if (IsA(node, Query))
+	{
+		context->rtable = ((Query *) node)->rtable;
+		query_tree_walker((Query *) node, ExtractRangeTableIds, context, 0);
+		context->rtable = rtable; /* restore original rtable */
+		return false;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		return expression_tree_walker(node, ExtractRangeTableIds, context);
+	}
+}
+
+
+/* 
+ * CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated checks if all distributed tables in the
+ * given node are colocated. If they are, it sets the value of rte to a
+ * representative table.
+ */
+bool CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated(Node *node, List *rtable, RangeTblEntry **rte)
+{
+	ExtractRangeTableIdsContext context;
+	List *idList = NIL;
+	context.idList = &idList;
+	context.rtable = rtable;
+	ExtractRangeTableIds(node, &context);
+
+	RangeTblEntry *rteTmp;
+	List *citusRelids = NIL;
+	ListCell *lc = NULL;
+
+	foreach(lc, idList)
+	{
+		rteTmp = (RangeTblEntry *) lfirst(lc);
+		if (IsCitusTable(rteTmp->relid))
+		{
+			citusRelids = lappend_int(citusRelids, rteTmp->relid);
+			*rte = rteTmp; // set the value of rte, a representative table
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!AllDistributedRelationsInListColocated(citusRelids))
+	{
+		ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("The distributed tables are not colocated")));
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	return true;
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/combine_query_planner.h b/src/include/distributed/combine_query_planner.h
index 2afc8aa5f..6fc4413ab 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/combine_query_planner.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/combine_query_planner.h
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ extern Path * CreateCitusCustomScanPath(PlannerInfo *root, RelOptInfo *relOptInf
 										CustomScan *remoteScan);
 extern PlannedStmt * PlanCombineQuery(struct DistributedPlan *distributedPlan,
 									  struct CustomScan *dataScan);
+extern bool ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE(RangeTblEntry *rangeTblEntry, RangeTblEntry **result);
 extern bool FindCitusExtradataContainerRTE(Node *node, RangeTblEntry **result);
 extern bool ReplaceCitusExtraDataContainer;
 extern CustomScan *ReplaceCitusExtraDataContainerWithCustomScan;
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h b/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h
index 8fb012588..1a5423711 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h
@@ -20,10 +20,13 @@
 #include "nodes/pg_list.h"
 
 #include "distributed/citus_custom_scan.h"
+#include "distributed/query_utils.h"
 
 
+bool ExtractIndexesForConstaints(List *fromList, List *rtable, int *outerRtIndex, RangeTblEntry **distRte);
 extern void RebuildQueryStrings(Job *workerJob);
 extern bool UpdateRelationToShardNames(Node *node, List *relationShardList);
+extern bool UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin(Node *node, List *relationShardList);
 extern void SetTaskQueryIfShouldLazyDeparse(Task *task, Query *query);
 extern void SetTaskQueryString(Task *task, char *queryString);
 extern void SetTaskQueryStringList(Task *task, List *queryStringList);
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
index f1120497b..821a2c28d 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ extern bool IsCitusTableType(Oid relationId, CitusTableType tableType);
 extern CitusTableType GetCitusTableType(CitusTableCacheEntry *tableEntry);
 extern bool IsCitusTableTypeCacheEntry(CitusTableCacheEntry *tableEtnry,
 									   CitusTableType tableType);
+extern bool IsFirstShard(CitusTableCacheEntry *tableEntry, uint64 shardId);
 bool HasDistributionKey(Oid relationId);
 bool HasDistributionKeyCacheEntry(CitusTableCacheEntry *tableEntry);
 extern char * GetTableTypeName(Oid tableId);
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h b/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h
index 0b216d158..51b00f551 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ typedef struct ExtractRangeTableWalkerContext
 	ExtractRangeTableMode walkerMode;
 } ExtractRangeTableWalkerContext;
 
+/* Struct to pass rtable list and the result list to walker */
+typedef struct ExtractRangeTableIdsContext
+{
+	List **idList;
+	List *rtable;
+} ExtractRangeTableIdsContext;
+
 /* Function declarations for query-walker utility functions */
 extern bool ExtractRangeTableList(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableWalkerContext *context);
 
@@ -38,5 +45,6 @@ extern bool ExtractRangeTableRelationWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableList);
 extern bool ExtractRangeTableEntryWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableList);
 
 extern bool ExtractRangeTableIndexWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableIndexList);
-
+extern bool ExtractRangeTableIds(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableIdsContext *context);
+extern bool CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated(Node *node, List *rtable, RangeTblEntry **rte);
 #endif /* QUERY_UTILS_H */
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h b/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h
index b4aaa4785..b7fad123d 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ extern bool IsRecursivelyPlannableRelation(RangeTblEntry *rangeTableEntry);
 extern bool IsRelationLocalTableOrMatView(Oid relationId);
 extern bool ContainsReferencesToOuterQuery(Query *query);
 extern void UpdateVarNosInNode(Node *node, Index newVarNo);
+extern bool IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(RangeTblEntry *rte);
 
 
 #endif /* RECURSIVE_PLANNING_H */