As Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar prepares to be sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he had no knowledge of the development and learnt about it only through media reports.
Addressing a press conference in Baramati amid reports of Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in, Sharad Pawar said, "We don't know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news. I have no idea about the swearing-in," when asked if any member of the Pawar family would attend the ceremony.
He said the decision appeared to have been taken by the NCP leadership. "Some people like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare took the initiative. These people might have decided something," he added.
Sharad Pawar also recalled efforts to reunite the two factions of the NCP, saying it was his late nephew Ajit Pawar’s wish. "Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated the talks about the merger of the two factions. Even the merger date had been fixed — it was scheduled on the 12th (February). Unfortunately, Ajit left us before that," he said.
Meanwhile, Sunetra Pawar reached Mumbai in the early hours of Saturday and is set to take oath as deputy chief minister, replacing her late husband Ajit Pawar, who died in an air crash in Baramati on January 28. She arrived at Devgiri, her late husband’s official residence in south Mumbai, accompanied by her son Parth.
The 62-year-old leader, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, is expected to be elected leader of the NCP’s legislature wing at a meeting in Mumbai later in the day, paving the way for her swearing-in as the state’s first woman deputy chief minister.
Sources said discussions about a possible merger between the NCP and the Sharad Pawar-led faction had gained momentum after Ajit Pawar’s death, but leaders of NCP (SP) and members of Sharad Pawar’s family were unaware of Sunetra Pawar’s decision to join the BJP-led Mahayuti government. "The NCP (SP) leadership and Sharad Pawar's family members were completely in the dark about her plans," a source said.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the ruling alliance would back the decision taken by Ajit Pawar’s family and party. "The NCP will take whatever decision it has to take for the post of deputy chief minister, and we will support the decision. We are standing behind the family of Ajit Dada and the NCP," Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur on Friday.
Sunetra Pawar had largely stayed away from active politics until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when she contested from Baramati on an NCP ticket but lost to her sister-in-law and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule. She was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Senior NCP leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said the party’s legislature wing would meet in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon to formally name her as its leader.