Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has been assigned the Excise, Sports and Youth Welfare, and Minorities Development portfolios, following her swearing-in on Saturday, January 31, 2026. The Finance and Planning departments, previously held by the late Ajit Pawar, have been allocated to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, took oath as deputy chief minister following her husband’s death in a plane crash near Baramati on January 28.
Governor Devvrat administered the oath earlier in the day, after Sunetra Pawar was elected leader of the Nationalist Congress Party’s legislature wing. Following Ajit Pawar’s death, several NCP leaders had called for his wife to be given the post he held in the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Sunetra Pawar, expressing confidence that she would work for the welfare of Maharashtra’s people and carry forward the vision of her late husband. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also praised her for taking on the responsibility under difficult circumstances while keeping the interests of the state in mind.
Ajit Pawar, who served as deputy chief minister and finance minister in the Mahayuti government, died along with four others when the aircraft he was travelling in crashed while descending in Pune’s Baramati region.