Sunetra Pawar to take oath as first woman deputy CM of Maharashtra at 5pm today

Sunetra Pawar to take oath as first woman deputy CM of Maharashtra at 5pm today

Sunetra Pawar, who unsuccessfully fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is likely to be elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party.

Mumbai : Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar is set to take oath as the first woman deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on Saturday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders aware of the matter said, taking over the position from her late husband Ajit Pawar who died in a tragic plane crash two days ago.

Sunetra, who unsuccessfully fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections before entering the Rajya Sabha on June 18 2024, is likely to be elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party on Saturday and subsequently take oath as deputy chief minister, they added.

The 40 legislators of the NCP are likely to meet at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai at 2 pm on Saturday to elect their leader, who will then become the deputy chief minister of the state. Sunetra Pawar, 62, is likely to be sworn in at a low key function at Lok Bhavan at 5 pm on Saturday, party functionaries said.

To be sure, it is not clear whether Sunetra Pawar will also handle the two ministries under Ajit Pawar – most importantly the finance portfolio. She is not a member of either house of the legislature and will have to fight either a bypoll or be nominated to the upper house. The Baramati seat, represented by Ajit Pawar, will also see a bypoll within the next six months.

Food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal said the party decided to finalise the name of Sunetra Pawar as the legislative party leader and the post of deputy CM. “During our meeting with the CM, we enquired about his availability (for the swearing in) and he has said that he is available on Saturday. The swearing in after the election of the CLP could take place tomorrow itself. All of us want Sunetra vahini [sister-in-law] to lead the legislative unit” he said.

Backing Sunetra, senior minister Manikrao Kokate said:“Sunetra vahini will lead the legislative party. There is no doubt. We will authorise her to take all decisions on our behalf.”

State NCP chief Sunil Tatkare said the meeting of legislators, party parliamentarians and leaders will take place at 2 pm on Saturday at Vidhan Bhavan to elect the legislative party leader. “We could not speak to Sunetra vahini as she was busy with rituals throughout the day. We are expecting her to be present at the meeting,” he added.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decisions related to the post of deputy chief minister will be taken by the NCP. “We will support the decision that is taken by the NCP and Ajit Pawar’s family. We as the government and as a party stand by them and the Pawar family. The NCP leaders met me twice and discussed the internal party process and the options before them,” he said.

Importantly, Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place even before the Pawar family meeting to discuss the merger of two factions of the NCP, which was expected to be held in Baramati in Pune. The two factions had initiated merger talks and even fought some local body polls together earlier.

According to party insiders, Sunetra Pawar expressed her willingness to accept the post, after which senior party leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal met Fadnavis and conveyed the party’s decision to him.

“It was a formality to take the nod to the name for the post as the BJP and the CM’s approval to the name is equally important. The CM asked us to complete the process at the earliest and even hold the swearing in on Saturday,” said a senior NCP leader, requesting anonymity.

Patel separately said there is no opposition to Sunetra Pawar becoming the new leader of the NCP legislature wing.

Earlier in the day, the NCP leaders briefly met Sunetra Pawar in Baramati. After the NCP leaders’ meeting with the CM on Friday, the party’s political strategist Naresh Arora met Sunetra Pawar, and her sons Parth and Jay, in Baramati and discussed the timing for the meetings and swearing in ceremony. After the approval from the family, the party office contacted party legislators, asking them to attend the legislative party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan on Saturday, NCP functionaries said.

Late on Friday, Sunetra Pawar left Baramati for Mumbai along with her sons. Party leaders said the post of national president would also remain within the Pawar family, and Sunetra is likely to assume the role, though it is likely to be decided at a later stage.

The family is also expected to discuss the potential merger amid mounting pressure from the workers and leaders from both the factions. “More than the faction led by Ajit Pawar, the Sharad Pawar-led party is more eager for the merger. Except for the couple of top leaders,almost all other leaders from Ajit Pawar faction, are in favour of the merger, but the decision is likely to be deferred for at least a couple of weeks,” said another senior NCP leader, requesting anonymity.

A senior NCP minister said the power struggle between the leaders of the factions had already begun.

“There are a few leaders in our party who are opposing the merger. On the other hand, the Pawar faction has started putting pressure for the merger with its leaders like Jayant Patil, Ankush Kakade and Shashikant Shinde publicly saying that Ajit Pawar had held discussions with them on merging the two factions in February. Following their statements in the media, legislators began speaking in favour of the merger. In this background, a swift decision was taken to hold the meeting and elect the leader of the legislative party. It was decided that any discussions about the merger and who could be the chief of the party would be taken later,” he said.

Ajit Pawar and four others were killed in a plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday morning, ending an era in state politics and raising serious questions about the flight operator and the state of the airstrip.

Ajit Pawar, 66, was in a mid-size business jet that took off at 8.10am from Mumbai for his home bastion of Baramati to address rallies for upcoming rural body polls. Thirteen minutes later, the Learjet 45 aircraft began its descent but aborted the first landing after the pilot couldn’t see the runway. After circling back, pilots confirmed a second landing attempt at 8.43am but a minute later, the air traffic control saw flames near the runway as the aircraft veered off course and crashed.

In all, it was in the air for 33 minutes. Ajit Pawar’s remains were identified by his wristwatch, said local residents.

His ashes were immersed at the confluence of Neera and Karha rivers near Baramati by his sons Parth and Jay on Friday. Sunetra Pawar, Supriya Sule and other family members were present at the occasion.

Sharad Pawar visited Nirvagaj village near Baramati to meet local villagers who were complaining of contaminated water.

Article source: hindustantimes.com