Sunetra Pawar takes oath as Maharashtra's first woman Deputy CM
What's the story
Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday. She succeeds her late husband, Ajit Pawar, who tragically died in a plane crash. The 62-year-old leader was earlier elected as the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislature wing at a party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Saturday. This makes her Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister. Pawar paid tribute to her late husband ahead of the swearing-in.
Oath ceremony
Swearing-in ceremony
Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devrat administered the oath to Pawar in a simple ceremony at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan on Saturday evening. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were present. NCP supporters raised slogans like, "Ajitdada Amar rahe!" and "Vahini saheb age badho, hum tumhare sath hai!"
Political journey
Who is Sunetra Pawar?
Pawar had largely stayed away from public life until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She contested from Baramati as an NCP candidate but lost to her sister-in-law, Supriya Sule. Senior NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil proposed her name for the leader of the party's legislature, and Chhagan Bhujbal seconded it. However, since she is currently not a member of the Maharashtra legislature, she will need to either win a bypoll or enter the Legislative Council within the stipulated period.
Faction rumors
Speculation about NCP factions reuniting
After Ajit Pawar's demise, speculation about a possible reunification of the NCP factions had intensified. "We had positive discussions about the merger...but now it has been interrupted," Sharad Pawar told reporters on Saturday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would support any decision taken by Ajit Pawar's family and party.
Pawar's reaction
Sharad Pawar reacts
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar distanced himself from the development, saying he learned about Sunetra's swearing-in through media reports and that the decision seemed to have been made by the NCP. He added that Ajit had wanted to merge both factions and that talks in this regard had been ongoing.