Sunetra Pawar, Rajya Sabha member will be sworn in as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister after her husband Ajit Pawar's death in tragic plane crash in Baramati. After completing the last rites of Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar and her family on Saturday reached Mumbai. She reached Devgiri, the official residence of her late husband in south Mumbai with son Parth by her side.
Following Ajit Pawar's death, merger talks between NCP and Sharad Pawar's faction intensified. However, sources within NCP (SP) and Pawar's family denied knowledge of her decision to join the BJP-led Mahayuti government, stating the party leadership and family were unaware of her plans. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis affirmed that the BJP would support the decisions of Ajit Pawar's family and party.
The 62-year-old leader, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, will be elected as leader of the legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon, and is all set to take oath as Maharashtra's first woman deputy CM.
According to NCP sources, the Finance portfolio will remain temporarily with Fadnavis as the budget session is scheduled in March, but it will later go to the NCP.