Maharashtra: Sunetra Pawar to Take Oath as Deputy Chief Minister Tomorrow

The Maharashtra deputy chief minister position, left vacant following the tragic passing of Ajit Pawar, will be taken by his wife Sunetra Pawar, who will be sworn in on Saturday at 5 pm.

According to reports, Sunetra Pawar has accepted the proposal to be elevated to the position while also taking over the portfolios of excise and sports in the state government held by her late husband, reported India Today, citing NCP sources.

Meanwhile, the finance portfolio will remain with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who will temporarily hold it with the budget session scheduled in March, and will later go to the NCP.

Senior leaders of the NCP reportedly proposed the name of Sunetra Pawar for appointment as the deputy chief minister in a bid to set the party’s direction ahead of the Pune Zila Parishad polls to be held on February 7.

Notably, the oath-taking ceremony on Saturday will mark Sunetra Pawar’s official entry into Maharashtra’s top executive leadership, along with the chief minister.

Maharashtra cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal, speaking to reporters at the NCP office earlier today, said that Fadnavis had no problems with Pawar’s oath-taking ceremony as the deputy chief minister.

A seasoned politician and Maharashtra’s longest-serving deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, was tragically killed after the aircraft he was travelling in crashed while landing at Baramati airport in Pune. He was 66. The plane crashed near the runway threshold, leading to the death of all five on board, including Pawar’s personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots.

His last rites were performed with full state honours on Thursday at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati, his home constituency, where his sons lit the funeral pyre and carried out the final rituals.

Prominent dignitaries, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, and actor Riteish Deshmukh, attended the funeral and paid their respects.