Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Sunetra Pawar on her appointment as Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister. In a post on X, PM Modi said he was confident that Sunetra Pawar would work for the welfare of the people of Maharashtra and carry forward the vision of her late husband, NCP leader Ajit 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,” the PM wrote.
Sunetra Pawar was sworn in at a ceremony at Lok Bhavan in Mumbai. Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Earlier in the day, Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected leader of the Nationalist Congress Party’s legislature wing, three days after the death of her husband. Her name was proposed by senior leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal at a meeting held at Ajit Pawar’s office in the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai.
Ajit Pawar, who served as deputy chief minister and finance minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, was killed in a plane crash near Baramati on January 28 along with four others. At the legislature party meeting, Sunetra Pawar paid floral tributes to her husband’s portrait. Their younger son, Jay Pawar, was present. Several ministers and MLAs were seen visibly emotional.
As Sunetra Pawar took the oath, NCP leaders raised slogans of “Ajit Dada amar rahe.”
Until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra Pawar had largely remained away from active politics. She contested from Baramati that year on the NCP ticket but lost to her sister-in-law, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule. She was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.