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Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, replacing her deceased husband and party chief Ajit Pawar, at the Lok Bhavan at 5 pm on Saturday, January 31.

Right after she took the oath as the Deputy Chief Minister, there were fervent chants of “Ajit Dada amar rahe” and “Bharat mata ki jai” from NCP workers.

Former NCP chief Ajit Pawar, popularly known as “Dada,” died on Wednesday, January 28, after a plane carrying him and four others crashed near the Baramati airstrip in Maharashtra’s Pune district.

She became the first Deputy CM of Maharashtra in the wake of the sympathy wave three days after her husband’s demise, and is likely to fight for elections from Baramati.

Meanwhile, the two factions of the NCP – one that was led by Ajit Pawar and one led by his uncle Sharad Pawar – are in serious talks of unification. However, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar had earlier distanced himself from the swearing-in of Sunetra.

“I am not aware of the swearing-in. I didn’t even know that it was scheduled for today. There was no discussion with me about the swearing-in. Her party (NCP) may have made the decision,” he told reporters in Baramati.

With Sunetra sworn in as the Deputy CM and the NCP (SP) camp having strong beliefs that veteran leader Sharad Pawar would have a “central role,” the power dynamics in the two factions are set to see a massive change.

Presently, NCP is part of the Mahayuti government, while NCP (SP) is a constituent of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The two factions had already demonstrated a “thaw” in relations by contesting the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections jointly under the NCP’s clock symbol.

Who is Sunetra Pawar?

A social entrepreneur, environmentalist and more, Sunetra Ajit Pawar, began her active political career during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, contesting the Baramati Lok Sabha seat as an NCP candidate against her sister-in-law, Supriya Sule. Although she did not win the election, she was later elected to the Rajya Sabha in June 2024.

Born in Osmanabad in 1963 to Bajirao Patil, Sunetra serves as the chairperson of Baramati Textile Company and founded the NGO Environmental Forum of India. She has been a think tank member at the World Entrepreneurship Forum in France since 2011 and is a trustee at an educational institute founded by Sharad Pawar Vidya Pratishthan, overseeing activities and ensuring education for over 25,000 students.

Additionally, she has been a member of the Senate at Savitribai Phule Pune University since 2017.

With deep roots in social work and efforts to uplift people in the agriculture sector, she championed sustainable practices and raised environmental awareness, for which she was awarded the Green Warrior Award.