Mumbai

Sunetra Pawar, widow of the late NCP president Ajit Pawar, was on Saturday sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The 62-year-old Pawar, who resigned from her Rajya Sabha seat ahead of the ceremony, took the oath of office and secrecy from Governor Acharya Devvrat in a brief function at Lok Bhavan. Earlier in the day, she was elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in the state.

Supporters raised slogans of “Ajit Dada Amar Rahe” (Ajit Dada is immortal) as Sunetra Pawar ascended to the dais. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and senior NCP leaders including Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, and Chhagan Bhujbal attended the ceremony. Her younger son, Jay Pawar, and his wife were also present.

Ajit Pawar had held the Deputy Chief Minister post and the finance portfolio in the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP “Mahayuti” government before he died in an air crash in Baramati on January 28.

Sunetra Pawar is not currently a member of the state legislature but is expected to contest the upcoming bypoll in the Baramati assembly constituency, previously represented by her late husband.

A member of the Pawar political family, Sunetra Pawar made her electoral debut in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, contesting from Baramati against her sister-in-law, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule. After losing that election, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

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As Deputy Chief Minister, she faces the dual challenge of maintaining party unity and managing coalition politics with the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Her immediate political test will be deciding the future of the proposed merger between the two NCP factions.