Maharashtra gets first woman Deputy CM as Sunetra Pawar takes oath
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Pawar, calling her appointment a historic moment for the state
Oath taking ceremony of Sunetra Pawar
Mumbai, Jan 31: Maharashtra on Saturday got its first woman Deputy Chief Minister, with Sunetra Pawar sworn in at a ceremony in Mumbai.
Her elevation follows the death of her husband, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, in an air crash in Baramati on January 28. The NCP, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, subsequently elected Sunetra Pawar as the leader of its legislature wing.
A letter confirming her appointment was submitted to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and forwarded to Governor Acharya Devvrat for formal approval.
Slogans like " Ajit dada Amar Rahe" (Ajit dada is immortal) were raised as Pawar rose to take the oath.
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. Earlier in the day, she was elected as the state NCP legislature party leader.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Pawar, calling her appointment a historic moment for the state.
“Best wishes to Sunetra Pawar ji as she begins her tenure as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the first woman to hold this responsibility. 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,” Modi said in a social media post on X.
Hailing from Tera village in Dharashiv district (formerly Osmanabad) in the Marathwada region, Pawar comes from a politically active family but remained largely outside active politics for much of her life.
She made her electoral debut in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Baramati, the Pawar family stronghold, where she was defeated by incumbent NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MP Supriya Sule. She was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Her father, Bajirao Patil, was associated with the Marathwada liberation movement, which preceded the merger of the Hyderabad State with the Indian Union.
The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the BJP–Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti government.
He continued as Deputy Chief Minister after the alliance returned to power with a landslide victory in the November 2024 Assembly elections.
PTI