Who is Sunetra Pawar? Will she become NCP chief and Maharashtra’s deputy CM
Sunetra Pawar with others at Ajit Pawar's funeral in Baramati. Photograph: (PTI)
The Pawar family has long shaped Maharashtra politics, with Sunetra now at the centre of a delicate balance between political legacy and organisational leadership. There is a growing consensus in the party that Sunetra could help keep the party united in this hour of tragedy and crisis.
The sudden and tragic death of Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Ajit Pawar has created a big void in state politics and has led to intense discussions about his widow, Sunetra Pawar, becoming the new party chief and the deputy CM in the state. The discussions come amid high sentiments after the demise of Ajit Pawar. Senior NCP leaders see Sunetra as a symbolic and strategic choice to succeed her husband in both the party and government. Sources suggest she could contest the Assembly seat left vacant by Ajit Pawar and be inducted into the state Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister, maintaining political continuity and honouring Ajit Pawar’s legacy.
Narhari Zirwal and Pramod Hindurao, two close aides of the late Ajit dada (as the younger Pawar was known), have demanded that Sunetra, a Rajya Sabha MP, be made the deputy chief minister. “All supporters I have spoken to want Sunetra vahini (sister-in-law) in the state cabinet. I support this view,” Zirwal said in Baramati
Several senior leaders and members of the party, including NCP working president Praful Patel, state chief Sunil Tatkare, and cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal, met Sunetra at her residence on Thursday, offered condolences and also urged her to join the Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra and lead Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP.
Who is Sunetra Pawar?
Sunetra, born 18 October 1963, is Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra. She comes from a political family, as her father, Padamsinh Patil, was a state minister and Lok Sabha MP. She built her public profile through social work, environmental advocacy, and administrative roles.
She founded the Environmental Forum of India (EFOI), promoting organic farming and sustainable rural development, and is chairperson of the Baramati Textile Company. She is also a trustee of Vidya Pratishthan, an institution serving tens of thousands of students.
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Sunetra entered active politics in 2024 when she contested the Baramati Lok Sabha seat but lost to Supriya Sule, her sister-in-law. Soon after, she was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
NCP leaders, workers want Sunetra to take over the mantle
The Pawar family has long shaped Maharashtra politics, with Sunetra now at the centre of a delicate balance between political legacy and organisational leadership.
NCP working president Praful Patel said the time is not yet ripe for the announcement, as family rituals are currently underway.
Ajit Pawar and four others were killed when the chartered plane carrying them crashed in Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday. The NCP chief, popularly known as ‘Ajit Dada’ was cremated with full state honours on Thursday.
Alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena ready to accept Sunetra in new role?
The BJP and Shiv Sena leadership may also accept the proposal as it would set the tone for political stability in the state and influence future electionsamid talks of a possible merger of the two NCP factions which had joined hands in the just concluded civic body polls across Maharashtra, but could not prevent a rout.
There is a growing consensus in the party that Sunetra Pawar could help keep the party united if talks to merge the rival NCP factions fail.
NCP’s identity is inseparable from the Pawar family. So far, the party’s functioning kept revolving around Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule. After the untimely death of Ajit, many party seniors as well as grassroots workers feel that only his wife Sunetra can take his position.
Sunetra will have to balance expectations, her husband’s legacy, and political reality.
