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Sunetra Pawar agrees to take charge as deputy CM, oath-taking ceremony at 5 pm on Saturday, say NCP sources. Buzz over merger of NCP Ajit-Sharad Pawar factions grows louder
Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. (PTI File)
Amid speculations over who will be the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a seat left vacant after the sudden death of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on Wednesday, sources said that his wife, Sunetra Pawar, has agreed to take charge, said party sources.
The oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held at 5 pm on Saturday, said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) sources, adding she will also take charge as the party chief. The preparations have begun at the Raj Bhawan.
The development comes amid the buzz over the merger of the two factions of the NCP, which many called the leader’s “last wish”.
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NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare and Dhananjay Munde met CM Devendra Fadnavis at Varsha Bungalow on Friday. Ajit Pawar’s NCP is in alliance with CM Fadnavis-led BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Sena in the Maharashtra government. His uncle Sharad Pawar and cousin Supriya Sule’s NCP faction is in the opposition, with the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
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Talking to reporters at the NCP office, Bhujbal said Chief Minister Fadnavis has conveyed that he has no issues if her oath-taking ceremony as the deputy Chief Minister takes place on Saturday itself, provided a decision to that effect is taken by the legislature wing of the party.
What about Ajit Pawar’s portfolios?
Ajit Pawar was holding key departments, including Finance, Planning and State Excise, and had additional charge of Sports and Youth Welfare and Minority Development. “The Finance and Planning portfolios are likely to be handed over to the BJP,” said sources.
NCP’s legislative party meet tomorrow
NCP’s Sunil Tatkare said, “The Nationalist Congress Party MLAs’ meeting will be held tomorrow at 2 pm. As the State President, I have called this meeting. Legislative Council members, Assembly members, and MPs—all will be present. The meeting will conclude in everyone’s presence. The NCP chief will be picked. CM Fadnavis will be informed about it.”
Earlier in the day, Bhujbal said the legislative party meeting of the NCP will be held on January 31, where Sunetra Pawar will be named as its chief.
Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha MP and not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature. However, the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district has fallen vacant after Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on Wednesday.
“(Senior NCP leaders) Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare are looking into the technicalities of the mourning period and other finer details…Sometimes, there is a three-day mourning period and sometimes ten days,” the food and civil supplies minister said.
He, however, added that the final decision will be taken in the legislature party meeting.
Why Sunetra Pawar was the party’s preferred choice over Supriya Sule
A majority of leaders of the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) wanted Sunetra Pawar to become the Deputy Chief minister and lead the party.
There are many reasons for it, say sources:
- A family-led party can’t have leadership outside the family.
- The NCP is a Maratha-based party, hence non-Maratha leaders like Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Sunil Tatkare will not be acceptable to cadre and leaders. If a non-Maratha face becomes the chief of party, there is a chance that the cadre may get disturbed, said sources.
- Sunetra Pawar is a Maratha face, and the immediate family of Ajit Pawar. For the past few years, she has been involved in the day-to-day affairs of the party.
- Sunetra has good ground connections in both sections of the NCP. So she can lead the NCP (United) in the future.
Will the two factions merge?
A majority of party workers and supporters want the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions to merge. “It was the heartfelt wish of Ajit Pawar that both the NCP factions should merge at the earliest. Ajit Pawar had already started work in that direction. As he is not amongst us, we should go ahead with the merger…it was Ajit Pawar’s last wish,” said Anil Deshmukh.
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Ajit Pawar was keen on the merger of the two factions of the NCP, and it was about to happen soon, Kiran Gujar, who had been associated with Ajit Pawar since before his entry into politics in the mid-1980s, told PTI on Thursday.
“He was one hundred per cent keen on merging both the factions. He had told me five days ago that the entire process was complete and the merger was imminent in the next few days,” Gujar said.
During the recent civic polls, which the two factions contested in alliance, Ajit Pawar had apparently told select journalists that he intended to merge his party with the NCP (SP) while his uncle, Sharad Pawar, 85, was in good health.
After contesting the January 15 civic elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together, the two factions decided to continue the tie-up for the next month’s Zilla Parishad elections too.
With Agency Inputs
January 30, 2026, 19:29 IST
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