Sunetra Pawar tipped as Ajit Pawar’s political heir, deputy CM role under consideration

Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, may be named his political successor, with the party also considering elevating her to the post of deputy chief minister.

According to media reports, the indications have come from party working president Praful Patel and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Another minister from Ajit Pawar's NCP faction, Narhari Zirwal, told the media that it was the collective sentiment of party leaders that Sunetra Pawar should be Ajit Pawar’s political heir. “Making Sunetra Pawar the deputy chief minister would be a true tribute to Ajit Dada,” Zirwal said.

Following Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on Wednesday, 28 January the posts of national president of the party and deputy chief minister in the state have fallen vacant. Party leaders, office-bearers and members of the public are of the view that the choice of Ajit Pawar’s successor should be made without delay.

In Baramati, there is strong public sentiment in favour of seeing Sunetra Pawar as deputy chief minister. People who attended Ajit Pawar’s last rites in Baramati on Thursday also openly expressed support for her elevation.

Sources said discussions within the party to fill the vacant positions have intensified rapidly since Ajit Pawar’s death. The process of convening a meeting of the party’s national executive to select his successor has also been expedited. The meeting will elect the party’s national president. According to sources, Sunetra Pawar has already been consulted about taking charge of the party, and her name is likely to be formally endorsed at the national executive meeting.

Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. To appoint her as deputy chief minister, the party plans to have her contest an Assembly by-election from Ajit Pawar’s constituency. Party insiders believe she will receive strong sympathy votes and that her victory is assured. If appointed, she would become Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister. Sunetra Pawar is the daughter of former state minister and former Lok Sabha MP Padamsinh Patil.

Sources also said the party intends to send a formal proposal recommending Sunetra Pawar’s appointment as deputy chief minister to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the state's other deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.

There is also speculation that if Sunetra Pawar accepts the posts of national president and deputy CM, she will resign from the Rajya Sabha. In that event, the party may consider nominating her elder son Parth Pawar, who is politically active, to fill the vacancy. Parth Pawar had earlier contested and lost from the Maval parliamentary constituency.

Meanwhile, discussions have resurfaced within the party about a possible merger of the two NCP factions. Ajit Pawar himself had earlier made efforts in this direction. Municipal elections were contested jointly with Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and there had also been a decision to fight district council and panchayat samiti elections together.

However, political equations have shifted somewhat since Ajit Pawar’s death. Zirwal said the Pawar family had already come together, making further talk of reunification redundant. Shashank Shinde, state president of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, said Ajit Pawar and some party leaders had envisioned sitting together after the district council and panchayat samiti elections to take a final call. “That dream remained unfulfilled,” Shinde said. “His role was to bring the family and all of us together and move forward collectively.”