Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected leader of the Nationalist Congress Party’s legislature party in Maharashtra on Saturday, just three days after the death of her husband and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
She is set to take oath later in the day as Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister, marking a significant political moment for the state.
Sunetra Pawar’s name was proposed by senior NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Her election took place at a meeting of the party’s legislature wing held at Ajit Pawar’s office on the ground floor of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai.
Ajit Pawar, who served as Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister in the Mahayuti government led by Devendra Fadnavis, was killed in a plane crash in Baramati along with four others on January 28.
During the meeting, Sunetra Pawar paid floral tributes to a portrait of her late husband, with their younger son Jay present. Several ministers and legislators were visibly emotional as they arrived at the Vidhan Bhavan complex.
The Lok Bhavan confirmed that Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in ceremony 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. She contested the Baramati seat that year as the NCP candidate but lost to her sister-in-law and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule in a high-stakes political contest. She was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.
