Sunetra Pawar is about to have a major role in the government of Maharashtra, as the Nationalist Congress Party – the NCP – has said she will be made Deputy Chief Minister, in place of her late husband, Ajit Pawar. This is both about a member of her family following another, and a political plan, with the party wanting to continue in the Mahayuti alliance that is currently in power.
If she is made Deputy Chief Minister, Sunetra Pawar will be the first woman to hold the job in Maharashtra. She is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha – the upper house of the state parliament – and will have to win a seat in the state legislature within six months if she wants to continue in the role, as the rules say.
Her being chosen is an unusual example of a family member taking over so quickly in state politics, and shows that the NCP wants to keep Ajit Pawar’s work in politics going, while also keeping the alliance stable. The choice is being made while people are still showing respect for Ajit Pawar, and asking for the change in leadership to be done quietly.
NCP members of both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council are meeting to choose their leader in the legislature, before the swearing-in. The legislative group had planned a formal meeting at Vidhan Bhavan – the state parliament building – and senior members of the party said they all agreed to support Sunetra Pawar as leader, and to ask for her to be made Deputy Chief Minister.
Senior ministers have spoken with the Chief Minister to agree on when and how to have a short oath-taking ceremony. The parties in the government have said they will support the NCP’s decision to put Sunetra Pawar in the Deputy Chief Minister job.
People in the party expect a simple ceremony to be held at a government building in Mumbai in the evening. Leaders say the most important thing is to make sure the correct procedures are followed, and to make sure that the work that Ajit Pawar used to be in charge of is handed over smoothly.
Sunetra Pawar’s appointment shows the NCP wants to remain an important part of the Mahayuti alliance, which is led by the BJP. The BJP has said publicly that it will support whatever choice the Pawar family and the NCP make about leadership, showing how the alliance will stick to the rules, and remain stable at a difficult time.
Ajit Pawar’s death has reduced the number of NCP members in the Legislative Assembly, and made talks about bringing together the two parts of the NCP more complicated. As the party is immediately focused on choosing a new leader, and keeping the government working, formal talks about joining the two parts of the NCP will probably be put off until things are more stable.
Born in 1963 into a family with political connections in Osmanabad, Sunetra Pawar studied business before marrying Ajit Pawar in 1985. For many years she did not take a major part in politics, and instead focused on her family and on work for the community in the Baramati area.
She became more well-known after doing development work in Kathewadi, where she encouraged better sanitation, solar-powered streetlights, biogas and organic farming, which helped the village to be recognised as a model village. More recently, she stood for election in the Baramati area, and was then put forward as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha.
Ajit Pawar’s seat in the Baramati Legislative Assembly is now free, and Sunetra Pawar is expected to stand in the by-election to get a seat in the legislature. Or, the party could ask for her to be nominated to the Legislative Council, but the rules say she must have a seat within six months of being sworn in.
Beyond this immediate change, NCP leaders say talks about joining with the other part of the NCP are still on the list of things to do, but will be put to one side. For the moment, the party wants to strengthen its leadership in the legislature, keep the important jobs it has, and continue to provide good government, while finding its way forward.
