Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected as the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislature party in Maharashtra on Saturday, just three days after the tragic death of her husband and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash.
She is set to take oath later in the day as the state’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister, marking a significant political moment amid an atmosphere of grief and transition.
Sunetra Pawar’s name was proposed by senior leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s legislature wing held at the office of late Ajit Pawar on the ground floor of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai.
Ajit Pawar, who also held the finance portfolio in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, was killed in a plane crash near Baramati on January 28 along with four others.
During the meeting, Sunetra Pawar paid floral tributes to a portrait of her late husband. Their younger son, Jay, was also present. Several ministers and legislators were visibly emotional, with many seen teary-eyed as they entered the Vidhan Bhavan complex.
The Lok Bhavan has confirmed that the swearing-in ceremony of Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister will be held at 5 pm in Mumbai.
Until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra Pawar had largely maintained a low public profile. In that year’s general elections, she contested from Baramati as the candidate of her husband’s party but lost to her sister-in-law and sitting NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule in a high-stakes contest.
She was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha, marking her formal entry into parliamentary politics.
Her unanimous election as the legislature party leader and imminent elevation to the post of Deputy Chief Minister signal the party’s attempt to ensure continuity and stability following Ajit Pawar’s sudden demise, while also placing trust in her leadership at a critical juncture for Maharashtra’s politics.
