- By Priyanka Koul
- Sat, 31 Jan 2026 05:37 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Maharashtra New Deputy CM: Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar and a sitting Rajya Sabha member, has been appointed as the new Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. She was sworn in at the Lok Bhavan. Her candidacy was proposed by veteran party leader Chhagan Bhujbal and seconded by Dilip Patil, along with several other legislators.
The 62-year-old Rajya Sabha MP's elevation to the number 2 position in the BJP-led state cabinet will also mark the beginning of a new chapter for the NCP.
#WATCH | Mumbai: NCP leaders chant 'Ajit dada amar rahe' as Sunetra Pawar, leader of the NCP legislative party and wife of late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, takes oath as Deputy CM of Maharashtra at the Lok Bhavan pic.twitter.com/RU1cUXTbld
— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2026
Following her husband, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's death in an air crash in Baramati on January 28, the Nationalist Congress Party, a constituent of the Mahayuti government, elected her as the leader of its legislature wing. A letter to that effect was submitted to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who forwarded it to Governor Acharya Devvrat.
The decision followed a meeting on Saturday, during which Sunetra Pawar, still reeling from the shock of her husband's sudden and tragic death in a plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday, agreed to take on the role of Legislature Party leader. She is set to make history as Maharashtra's first female Deputy Chief Minister, with the official oath-taking ceremony scheduled for the evening at Lok Bhavan.
#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Sunetra Pawar, leader of the NCP legislative party and wife of late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, takes oath as Deputy CM of Maharashtra at the Lok Bhavan
— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2026
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and other leaders present. pic.twitter.com/qL8IIvNeoR
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to Sunetra Pawar, the newly sworn-in Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
In a post on X, he wrote, "Best wishes to Sunetra Pawar Ji as she begins her tenure as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, becoming 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."
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.…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 31, 2026
In due course, Sunetra Pawar will resign from the Rajya Sabha to contest the Baramati Assembly seat.
This development comes after a significant leadership vacuum emerged within both the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Mahayuti government.
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Meanwhile, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar clarified that he was not consulted regarding Sunetra Pawar's elevation as the Maharashtra Dy CM. "I have had no discussion with Sunetra Pawar regarding this. I only learnt about the swearing-in ceremony through the morning news," he stated at a press conference on Saturday morning.