Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Ajit Pawar, will be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday at 5 pm.
She will oversee the Excise and Sports ministries, while the Finance portfolio remains temporarily with Devendra Fadnavis during the budget session before being handed to the NCP.
Her elevation was proposed by senior NCP leaders to strengthen the party ahead of the Pune Zilla Parishad elections on February 7. The decision came after deliberations within the Pawar family, marking her formal entry into the state’s executive leadership.
Ajit Pawar, 66, died earlier this week in a plane crash at Baramati airport that claimed five lives, including his security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots. His funeral was held with full state honours in Baramati, attended by leaders such as Amit Shah, Devendra Fadnavis, Nitin Gadkari, Sharad Pawar, and actor Riteish Deshmukh.
Sunetra Pawar’s appointment is seen as a strategic move to consolidate NCP’s position in Maharashtra politics following the loss of one of its tallest leaders.
