Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar is likely to be sworn-in as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday, replacing her late husbandAjit Pawar in the cabinet,
reported PTI citing party sources, signalling the party's continuation in ruling Mahayuti and delaying merger talks. She has left for Mumbai on Friday evening, sources said.While the talk of imminent merger of the two NCP factions was gaining ground following Ajit Pawar's death in an air crash on Wednesday, the leaders of the NCP (SP) or Sharad Pawar's family were not privy to her decision to join the BJP-led Mahayuti government. Ajit Pawar, the 66-year-old NCP chief, popularly known as 'Dada' (elder brother) in Maharashtra, was cremated with full state honours at the Vidya Pratishthan college ground in Baramati on Thursday.
Sunetra Pawar to Take Oath Today
Sunetra Pawar is likely to be sworn-in as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday, replacing her late husband Ajit Pawar in the cabinet, said NCP sources. She would be the first woman to hold the post of Deputy CM in the state, where the position was first created in 1978 when the coalition government era began in Maharashtra.
Following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash in Baramati on Wednesday, a section of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders had demanded that she be given the post held by her late husband in the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet. Her consent to accept the decision to name her as her husband's successor has been communicated to party leaders, said the sources.
"Tomorrow (Saturday), a parliamentary board meeting of the party will take place in Mumbai, where Sunetra Pawar will be elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party," a source told the news agency.
"It is likely that she will be sworn-in as Deputy Chief Minister by tomorrow evening," said the source privy to the developments.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP, which heads the ruling alliance Mahayuti, would support any decision taken by the family and party of late Ajit Pawar.
Sharad Pawar Not Consulted?
The leaders of the NCP (SP) or Sharad Pawar's family were not privy to Sunetra Pawar's decision to join the BJP-led Mahayuti government, the news agency said. "The NCP (SP) leadership and Sharad Pawar's family members were completely in the dark about her plans," a source told the news agency.
This comes amid reports of possible merger of the two factions of NCP. Ajit Pawar was reportedly keen on the merger of the two factions of the NCP and it was about to materialise soon, a close associate of the deceased leader told news agency PTI. Kiran Gujar, who has been associated with Ajit Pawar since before his entry into politics in the mid-1980s, told PTI that Pawar had confided in him about this only five days before Wednesday's fatal plane crash.
"He was hundred per cent keen on merging both the factions. He had told me five days ago that the entire process was complete and the merger was imminent in the next few days," Gujar said. Gujar, who has been associated with the Pawar family for over 40 years, remained with Ajit Pawar through his various political phases and was considered his close confidant.
