Sunetra Pawar set to be first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Sunetra Pawar, wife of the deceased Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, is set to become the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The NCP plans to hold its Legislature Party meeting at 2 p.m. on Saturday (January 31, 2026) to choose its new Legislature Party leader to replace Mr. Pawar. A small swearing-in ceremony is likely to happen after that, top sources from the NCP told The Hindu on Friday (January 30, 2026).

Political developments quickened in Maharashtra, three days after the sudden death of Mr. Pawar, the NCP supremo and the State’s Deputy CM, in an air crash at Baramati. His wife is currently the party’s sitting Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.

Unanimous decision

“There is no question of any other name. We are all unanimous that Sunetra Pawar will have to keep aside her grief and accept the position of Legislature Party leader. We will inform the Chief Minister thereafter. And the swearing-in ceremony for the position of the Deputy Chief Minister will take place,” Chhagan Bhujbal, senior NCP leader and State Cabinet Minister told The Hindu in Mumbai.

NCP State president Sunil Tatkare said, “We have called a meeting of our legislature party leaders tomorrow at 2 p.m. We expect that she will remain present. We are going to speak with Sunetra vahini tonight. She has been busy with the religious rituals so far.” The decision on the national president is not the priority at present, a leader said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that his BJP-led government would support the NCP’s decision. “They held a meeting with me twice. The final decision will be taken by their party. We will support them in whatever decision they take,” he said.

NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Dhananjay Munde met Mr. Fadnavis at his official bungalow earlier in the day on Friday for a meeting that lasted an hour. “We want to take the decision of appointing a Legislature Party leader soon. There is no difference in the opinion of the party and the public sentiment about who our next leader should be. We want to take this decision at the earliest. Please give us some time to talk with Sunetra Pawar,” Mr. Patel said.

Ajit Pawar’s elder son Parth Pawar is likely to become a Rajya Sabha MP, replacing his mother.

Reunification rumors

Meanwhile, the NCP seemed split over speculation about the reunification of the party with the NCP SP, a faction headed by Pawar’s uncle, veteran politician Sharad Pawar.

Maharashtra Minister Narhari Zhirwal was among the NCP leaders who expressed their desire that the two NCPs should reunite immediately. “This was Ajit Dada’s last wish. Whenever he would meet me, he would say that he was restless that Saaheb had to go through this pain at this age. He wanted both the parties to reunite,” senior NCP-SP leader Ankush Kakde said in Pune, A senior NCP leader close to the Pawar family in Baramati also said that the parties would reunite soon.

Mr. Bhujbal, however, said he was not aware of any such proposal or sentiments. “Right now, our priority is to appoint a Legislature Party leader. That is what we are going to do as a party,” he said.

NCP sources hinted that the BJP would have to be consulted before any discussion of reunification. Sources close to the senior leaders in the party denied any possibility of reunification. “There was a reason for which Ajit Pawar had walked out of Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Those who walked out with Ajit Pawar on July 2, 2023, are our family now. That family will take the decision. There is no question of the reunification of both the parties,” a senior leader said on condition of anonymity.