'Stand with Ajit dada's family and party': Devendra Fadnavis backs NCP on Deputy CM decision

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, left, and Governor Acharya Devrat with Sunetra Pawar earlier this week, following the death of Ajit Pawar.

• Mahayuti supports NCP's Deputy CM pick post Ajit Pawar's death.
• Sunetra Pawar set to become Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister
• Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash near Baramati airport on January 28

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The ruling Mahayuti alliance will support the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) decision on the vacant Deputy Chief Minister post, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated on Friday, following the death of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28.

“The decision will be taken by the NCP. We will stand by whatever decision the NCP takes. We are standing with the family of Ajit Dada and the party,” Fadnavis told reporters after meeting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. "The NCP will take whatever decision it has to take for the post of Deputy Chief Minister, and the government and BJP will support the decision," he noted.

Fadnavis also addressed questions about the upcoming state budget, noting that Ajit Pawar, who held the finance portfolio, had completed substantial preparations. “I will personally look into it and complete the processes involved, and eventually we will decide what to do,” he said.

Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar is set to be sworn in as Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday around 5 pm. She arrived in Baramati early on Saturday ahead of the ceremony and is expected to be elected as the NCP legislature party leader before taking oath, filling the position left vacant after her husband’s death.

Sunetra had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections before entering the Rajya Sabha on June 18, 2024. The NCP has scheduled a legislature meeting at 2 pm to elect her as the party’s legislative leader, clearing the path for her formal appointment.

Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has confirmed discussions with the Chief Minister regarding the oath-taking. “Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde and I met the Chief Minister last night and again today. We asked whether everything, including the swearing-in, could be done tomorrow. The Chief Minister said he had no problem,” Bhujbal said.

Former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh welcomed the move. “If Sunetra Bhabhi is made Deputy Chief Minister, it will be a matter of great joy. The family will sit together after three or four days and then make a decision,” he said.

Deshmukh also highlighted Ajit Pawar’s efforts to unify different NCP factions. “It was the late Ajit Dada Pawar’s heartfelt wish that both parties, Sharad Pawar’s faction and ours, come together. For this, he had several meetings with Jayant Patil and others. Ajit Dada wanted both parties to unite as soon as possible, and a decision had already been made accordingly,” he added.

Ajit Pawar, 66, died when the aircraft he was travelling in crash-landed near Baramati airport in Pune district on January 28. All five people on board, including his personal security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots, were killed.