Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Just three days after the sudden demise of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, his wife Sunetra Pawar, was on January 31 sworn in as Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sunetra Pawar at a simple ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in view of the recent tragedy. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, ministers, and legislators were present on the occasion. After the oath-taking ceremony, Ajit Pawar’s supporters raised slogans of ‘Amar Rahe Amar Rahe’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sunetra Pawar and expressed confidence that she would work tirelessly for the welfare of the people and carry forward the vision of Ajit Pawar.
Sunetra Pawar gets the charge of excise, sports, youth welfare, and minority affairs and Waqf departments. She has not been allocated the finance and planning departments which were held by her late husband.
Fadnavis will hold the finance and planning departments, and is also expected to present the annual budget for 2026-27.
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar’s uncle and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar clarified that he was not consulted regarding Sunetra Pawar’s elevation as the Maharashtra deputy CM. “I have had no discussion with Sunetra Pawar regarding this. I only learned about the swearing-in ceremony through the media,” he stated at a press conference.
On the merger between the two NCP factions, he confirmed that positive talks regarding reunification took place between Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil. He made a sensational claim that the merger was almost finalised and Ajit Pawar was set to announce it on February 12, according to IANS.
After Sharad Pawar claimed that he was not in the know of Sunetra Pawar’s election as the legislature party leader and elevation as Deputy CM, Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar, along with NCP(SP) legislator Rohit Pawar, met Pawar senior and briefed him about the developments.
Paying tribute to Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar described him as a tireless and capable leader deeply connected with the people
Earlier in the day, Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected as the NCP Legislature Party leader. Her name was proposed by party veteran Chhagan Bhujbal and seconded by Dilip Walse Patil and other legislators.