Succession, survival and more: Why retaining Deputy CM chair matters for NCP and Pawars

The NCP legislature party will meet next week to elect a new leader after Ajit Pawar's demise. (PTI photo)

• NCP aims to keep Deputy CM post within Pawar family after Ajit Pawar's death
• Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar's wife, is the frontrunner for Deputy CM role
• NCP sees Deputy CM post as crucial for coalition influence.

Did our AI summary help?

Amid the churn in Maharashtra's ruing alliance following the untimely demise of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on Wednesday, the party is learnt to be keen on retaining the Deputy Chief Minister's post within the Pawar family. The party's senior leadership views the position as critical not just to the party's survival in government but to the preservation of the Pawar family's political leverage in a fragile coalition.

While the party appears open to relinquishing the powerful Finance portfolio that Ajit Pawar held, NCP leaders are united in their view that surrendering the Deputy CM post would signal a loss of influence at a time when the party is already navigating leadership uncertainty.

Senior leaders indicated that the NCP legislature party will meet in the coming week to elect a new leader, with Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar's wife and a Rajya Sabha MP, emerging as the frontrunner. An informal closed-door meeting of senior leaders was held in Baramati on Wednesday night, where the immediate task of appointing a legislative party leader was discussed.

Maharashtra minister Narhari Zirwal has publicly backed Sunetra Pawar for the role. "She should be made the next Deputy Chief Minister. It will ensure that the political legacy of the Pawar family continues," he said, mirroring the party's preference for continuity over experimentation at this stage.

What is at stake for the NCP

In a coalition government dominated by the BJP and the Shiv Sena, the Deputy CM post is not merely ceremonial. It gives the NCP a seat at the core decision-making table and allows the party to protect its ministers' interests in the absence of key portfolios. Ajit Pawar's control of the Finance department had given the NCP a disproportionate leverage, with even rival-party ministers dependent on his clearance for projects and allocations.

With the Finance portfolio likely to be redistributed, the NCP risks losing its primary lever within the government. Retaining the Deputy CM position is seen as the only way to compensate for that loss and to ensure the party does not slide into irrelevance within the Mahayuti.

This is also why party leaders are reluctant to hand the post to a figure outside the Pawar family or to a leader without deep experience in coalition management. "The Deputy CM's post is the glue that keeps the NCP relevant in a tripartite government," a senior party functionary said.

A family without Assembly presence

The Pawar family's immediate challenge, however, is structural. At present, there is no family member from the Ajit Pawar faction in the Maharashtra Assembly. Sunetra Pawar is a Rajya Sabha MP, while Ajit Pawar's sons, Parth and Jai, do not hold elected office. On the other side of the family divide, NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule is a Lok Sabha MP and Rohit Pawar remains the only Pawar MLA in the state.

This vacuum in the Assembly makes the Deputy CM post even more vital, allowing the family to maintain its institutional grip on the party despite the absence of a strong legislative presence.

Party insiders believe Sharad Pawar's role as the family patriarch is now central to managing the transition. "The task before the Pawar family is to not lose control of the NCP. Whether the two factions merge immediately or not, Sharad Pawar will have to play a balancing role," The Indian Express quoted an insider as saying.

Beyond the political influence

Beyond party politics, there are also larger interests at stake. For decades, Ajit Pawar managed key political and economic networks for the family, ensuring that political rivalry did not spill over into cooperative institutions, educational trusts, and business interests that form the backbone of the Pawar influence in western Maharashtra.

"The Pawar empire is bigger than the NCP. Any misstep will have consequences that go far beyond one government or one party," the insider said.

In Maharashtra's hyper-competitive coalition politics, symbols of power matter as much as actual portfolios. If the NCP loses the Deputy CM post now, it risks triggering defections and weakening its bargaining power at a time when the party is going through one of its toughest transitions yet.