Mumbai: Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, arrived in Mumbai on January 31, 2026, to be sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, succeeding her late husband and NCP leader Ajit Pawar. Sunetra Pawar, accompanied by her son Parth, arrived at ‘Devgiri,’ the official residence of her late husband in South Mumbai, in the early hours of the day.
Later on Saturday, the NCP’s legislative wing is scheduled to meet around 2 pm, after which she is expected to be appointed as its leader and assume the position of Deputy Chief Minister, becoming the first woman to hold the post in Maharashtra. Following this, the party’s 40 legislators will convene at Vidhan Bhavan, with a low-key ceremony planned at Lok Bhavan at 5 pm.
At 62, Sunetra is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature but holds a seat in the Rajya Sabha. It is widely speculated that her son Parth may succeed her in the Rajya Sabha. This series of events follows the tragic death of Ajit Pawar in a fatal plane crash on Wednesday in Baramati, Pune district. NCP-SP supremo Sharad Pawar expressed that he was unaware of Sunetra’s appointment or the timing of the oath ceremony, stating, “It is the decision of her party. I have no clarity on the reasons behind the hasty appointment.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “The NCP will take whatever decision it has to take for the post of Deputy Chief Minister, and we will support the decision. We are standing behind the family of Ajit Dada and the NCP.”
Sunetra gained prominence in politics when she contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Baramati as the NCP candidate against her sister-in-law and incumbent MP Supriya Sule. Although she was defeated, she later secured a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
