Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday confirmed that the NCP’s legislature party will meet on 31 January, during which Sunetra Pawar, the wife of late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, will be appointed as its leader.
Speaking to reporters at the Nationalist Congress Party office, Bhujbal said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has indicated he has no objection to her being sworn in as deputy chief minister as early as Saturday, as long as the party’s legislature wing formally approves the decision.
NCP meeting on Saturday
“The legislature party meeting of the NCP will be convened on Saturday, where Sunetra Pawar will be named as its leader. Many leaders want her to become the deputy CM,” PTI quoted Bhujbal as saying. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the NCP office in Vidhan Bhavan in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon, party sources said. Sunetra Pawar will be present at the meeting.
Sunetra Pawar is poised to assume the position of deputy chief minister and is likely to take oath at 5 PM tomorrow, NCP sources said.
She is currently a Rajya Sabha MP and not a member of either House of the Maharashtra legislature.
However, the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district became vacant following Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on Wednesday.
With Ajit Pawar’s death, the NCP’s strength in the 288-member state assembly has fallen to 40. Party sources said all NCP legislators have been instructed to be present in Mumbai on Saturday.
Ajit Pawar had been considering a potential reunion of the two NCP factions with a long-term perspective, particularly focusing on the 2029 elections and the party’s continued relevance.
The late leader was confident that a merger would eventually happen, and crucially, with the approval of his uncle, Sharad Pawar, noted PTI report citing sources.
For the time being, the 7 February local polls will act as a “coordinated tribute” to Ajit Pawar, with both factions contesting together under the clock symbol as a precursor to a possible reunification following the results on 9 February.
Plans to include Ajit Pawar’s wife in the cabinet have drawn strong criticism from the opposition, with Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut calling it “inhuman.” “The woman has lost her husband; her eyes are still welling with tears. To talk of leadership and cabinet berths now shows zero humanity,” he stated.
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