Sunetra succeeds her husband Ajit Pawar who died in a plane crash on January 28
Sunetra Pawar, 62, took the oath of office as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on Saturday, becoming the first woman to hold this position in the history of the state, though in tragic circumstances. She succeeds her husband Ajit Pawar who died in a plane crash on January 28.
The swearing-in was attended by CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and deputy CM Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena, both allies with Sunetra Pawar's NCP.
Supporters of the NCP shouted slogans like “Ajit dada amar rahe” (Long live our brother Ajit) and “Vahini saheb aage badho, hum tumhare saath hain” (We stand with our sister-in-law) after the ceremony.
PM Narendra Modi posted on X: “Best wishes to Sunetra Pawar Ji as she begins her tenure as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the first woman to hold this responsibility. I am confident she will work tirelessly for the welfare of the people of the state and fulfil the vision of the late Ajitdada Pawar.”
Until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra Pawar had kept a low profile. In the elections that year, she contested from Baramati as the candidate of her husband's party, but was defeated by her sister-in-law and incumbent NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule in the prestige battle. Sunetra was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Sunetra Pawar, daughter of former Maharashtra minister Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, has a background in social work, and the cooperative sector that the Pawars hold sway over. She is a post-graduate in bio-chemistry.
Ahead of the ceremony, the NCP submitted a letter on the election of Sunetra Pawar as its legislature party leader to CM Fadnavis.
Senior NCP leaders, including Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal, met the CM at 'Varsha', his official residence in south Mumbai, and handed over the letter to him. Fadnavis then forwarded the letter to Governor Acharya Devvrat.