'NCP's call, family not consulted': Sharad Pawar on Sunetra's role
What's the story
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has confirmed that the decision to appoint Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra was taken by the party without consulting the family. This comes after her husband and former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash on Wednesday. "I don't know," Sharad said when asked if he was left out of discussions on his nephew's successor.
Party division
Learned about oath ceremony through media: Sharad
The NCP had split into two factions in July 2023, after Ajit Pawar left his uncle's side. Sharad has since distanced himself from recent developments and claimed that he learned about the oath ceremony through media reports. "We don't know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news," he said at a press conference in Baramati.
Reunion plans
Ajit planned to meet Sharad for party merger in December
NCP (SP) leader Ankush Kakade revealed that Ajit had planned a reunion with Sharad on December 12, his birthday. However, the merger did not happen then. "Ajit Pawar had told me that we were supposed to come together on December 12, but we couldn't," Kakade said. According to NDTV, a meeting took place between the two Pawar factions on January 17 to discuss a possible party reunion, which was to be announced on February 12.
Crash details
Ajit Pawar, 4 others died in plane crash
The Learjet 45, owned by VSR Ventures, crashed while attempting a second landing. Besides Ajit Pawar, there were four others on board: pilot Sumit Kapur, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, security officer Vidip Jadhav, and flight attendant Pinky Mali. All five perished in the crash. Meanwhile, Sunetra Pawar is expected to be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday at 5pm.