After Ajit Pawar’s death, Sunetra Pawar set to become Maharashtra deputy CM
Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar was on Saturday unanimously elected leader of the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) legislature group, formally making her the party’s nominee for the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the MahaYuti government. She is scheduled to be sworn in at 5 pm, becoming the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Her nomination was proposed by senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and seconded by other senior party leaders at a meeting of NCP legislators. The decision follows the sudden death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash earlier this week, which created a leadership vacuum within the party and the state government.
Party functionaries said Sunetra Pawar was elected unopposed by the NCP’s legislature group, signalling consensus within the party ranks amid a sensitive transition.
However, the development drew a political response from NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Sharad Pawar, who said on Saturday that he was unaware of any decision to appoint Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister. He also claimed that discussions had been underway to reunify the two NCP factions, with February 12 proposed as a tentative date for merger talks.
Adding to the intrigue, Sharad Pawar confirmed that Ajit Pawar’s son met him at his Baramati residence earlier in the day, though he maintained that he was not part of any deliberations on the leadership decision.
Earlier in the day, party sources said Sunetra Pawar would be formally elected leader of the NCP legislature party at a meeting of around 40 MLAs at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai at 2 pm, following which she would take oath later in the evening. The swearing-in ceremony is expected to be a low-key event at Lok Bhavan.
Sunetra Pawar, 62, entered Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member on June 18, 2024, after unsuccessfully contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She is currently not a member of the Maharashtra legislature and will need to either win a by-election or be nominated to the Legislative Council within the constitutionally mandated period.
Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over whether she will also take charge of key portfolios held by Ajit Pawar, including the crucial finance department.
