Sunetra Pawar will be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 31 January 2026 in Mumbai. The appointment followed the death of her husband, Ajit Pawar, in a plane crash on 28 January. Sharad Pawar, founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), publicly stated he had no prior knowledge of Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in and learned about it through media reports. The decision was attributed to the NCP leadership, with no involvement from Sharad Pawar’s faction.
According to Financial Express, Sharad Pawar clarified that the swearing-in decision was made by senior NCP leaders such as Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare.
He stated, “We don’t know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news. I have no idea about the swearing-in.” The NCP legislature party met on the same day, where Sunetra Pawar was named its leader, and she subsequently took oath as Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister.
As reported by The Indian Express, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adopted a wait-and-watch approach regarding the NCP’s internal decisions. The BJP’s focus was on maintaining alliance stability in Maharashtra, especially with Sunetra Pawar’s entry and the ongoing mayoral polls. The party indicated that any changes in representation at the Centre would depend on the NCP’s internal choices.
Coverage revealed that a video surfaced showing Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar in discussions about a possible NCP merger, with a tentative date set for 12 February.
However, Sharad Pawar confirmed that these talks were now on hold following Ajit Pawar’s death. The two NCP factions had recently collaborated in municipal elections, but the BJP secured decisive victories in those contests.
Statements from Sharad Pawar reiterated that he was not consulted about Sunetra Pawar’s appointment. He attributed the decision to the NCP and highlighted that Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, and Shashikant Shinde had initiated merger talks between the two factions, which were disrupted by Ajit Pawar’s death. “Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated the talks about the merger of the two factions. Even the merger date had been fixed — it was scheduled on the 12th (February). Unfortunately, Ajit left us before that,” Sharad Pawar said.
Further details confirmed that Sunetra Pawar, aged 62 and a Rajya Sabha MP, was not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature at the time of her appointment. She was accompanied by her son Parth to her late husband’s official residence before the ceremony. The NCP’s decision to appoint her was described as an internal matter, with Sharad Pawar’s group not involved in the process.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.