Sunetra Pawar steps into husband Ajit Pawar’s shoes – Challenges ahead for Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy CM

Sunetra Pawar, wife of deceased NCP president Ajit Pawar, was on Saturday sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The 62-year-old Pawar, who has resigned as Rajya Sabha MP, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a brief ceremony at the Lok Bhavan here.

Earlier in the day, she was elected as the state NCP legislature party leader.

Ajit Pawar, who held the Deputy Chief Minister’s post as well as the finance portfolio in the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP ‘Mahayuti’ government, died in an air crash in Baramati on 28 January.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Sunetra Pawar.

“I am confident she will work tirelessly for the welfare of the people of the state and fulfil the vision of the late Ajitdada Pawar,” the prime minister said in a post on X.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal, among others, were present at the ceremony.

Sunetra Pawar’s younger son, Jay Pawar, and his wife were also present.

She is not a member of either house of the state legislature, and is expected to contest the byelection to the Baramati assembly constituency represented by her late husband.

The Legislative Experience

Coming from a political family, the low-profile Sunetra Pawar made her electoral debut in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, facing off against her sister-in-law and incumbent NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family. After losing to Sule, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Sunetra assumes the charge of top leader in NCP and Maharashtra Deputy CM at a time when merger talks between the two party factions were in an advanced stage. A formal announcement of the reunification of the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was scheduled to be announced on 8 February, days before Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash.

Sources told Mint that while Ajit Pawar was in favour of the merger, Sunetra and her children were against it. They, people familiar with the plans, said they wanted to take NCP ahead without Sharad Pawar, Ajit’s uncle.

The Challenges

Sunetra Pawar would face several political and organisational challenges if she were to step into a frontline leadership role in Maharashtra.

The NCP suffered a split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar, along with many senior leaders, broke away from the party led by his uncle, veteran politician Sharad Pawar, and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition in Maharashtra.

Sunetra now faces an uphill task of holding the NCP together. And her immediate challenge will be deciding whether to proceed with the much-anticipated merger of the two NCP factions.

Another challenge for Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister would be managing coalition politics while working with the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. She would need to navigate the complex dynamics of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, where the BJP is the dominant force.

Ensuring that the NCP faction keeps itself relevant with a bargaining power within the coalition would require strong political negotiation skills, political analysts say.

Work with seasoned leaders

Sunetra has no legislative experience. She has not won elections – assembly or parliamentary. And on top of that, she will have to deal with seasoned political leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal, Praful Patel, and Sunil Tatkare, who, for now, seem to be by her side.

Sunetra’s late husband, Ajit Pawar, was a mass leader who held clout and heft within a party. Ajit Pawar was popularly known as ‘dada’ – a term of respect — for his long career and grassroots connect. Ajit was considered a powerful leader from Baramati with deep roots in cooperative societies, banking and agriculture – something he cultivated over four decades in politics.

Sunetra has so far largely remained away from active politics. In her role as deputy chief minister, she would want to build a strong public profile and establish her own political identity beyond being Ajit Pawar’s wife.

“Maharashtra politics is highly competitive and personality-driven, and she would need to prove her leadership credentials quickly,” said a political analyst

As things stand, Sunetra would likely depend mainly on her sons – Parth and Jay. Both are yet to establish themselves politically. And if at all the reunion of the two NCP factions happens, party patriarch, Sharad Pawar, is expected to play a role in guiding the transition.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the NCP, as part of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, has performed very well. “I personally do not see that will happen,” he told PTI in an interview when asked his views on the talks of the merger of the two NCP factions.

Goyal said that the NCP leadership “was with Ajit Pawar and now with Sunetra Pawar Ji”.