Mumbai: Sunetra Pawar, the late Ajit Pawar’s wife, is about to become the national president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
This is a quick move to consolidate power in Maharashtra’s unstable political scene. This decision comes just a few weeks after she was named Deputy Chief Minister. It indicates that the Pawar family is working hard to keep their political dynasty going after Ajit Pawar’s death.
Sunetra led an important meeting with senior NCP leaders in Mumbai on Monday night. Everyone agreed that she should be promoted. Praful Patel, the national executive president of the NCP, proposed her name, and all the MLAs endorsed it by raising their hands. On February 26, the party’s national executive committee will meet in the city to formally approve the plan.
Patel, along with state unit chief Sunil Tatkare and senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal, praised Ajit Pawar’s important role in growing the NCP across Maharashtra while speaking to the crowd.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, in a statement, “Under their leadership, the party will achieve great success.” He was confident in Sunetra’s leadership.
Sunetra thought about her political journey with her husband and said, “I have decided to take on this new duty to keep the party together and make it stronger.” She talked about how she became Deputy Chief Minister just 13 days after Ajit’s death, stressing the need for unity despite factional differences.
The long-awaited merger between the Ajit and Sharad Pawar factions was not brought up in any of the talks. Leaders had wanted to talk about it, but it was pushed to the side, and MLAs were told not to talk to the media about it. This has made people doubt the chances of unification and raised questions about the NCP’s future direction.
As Sunetra prepares to take on two roles in government and party affairs, people see this as a brave move to protect Ajit’s legacy that could change the balance of power in Maharashtra.