Sunetra Pawar set to fill Ajit Pawar's shoes, take oath as deputy CM of Maharashtra today

Rajya Sabha MP and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar. (File photo)

Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar, wife of NCP chief Ajit Pawar who was killed on Wednesday in a chartered plane crash in Baramati, is set to take oath as the first woman deputy chief minister of Maharashtra at around 5 pm on Saturday.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders aware of the matter said Sunetra Pawar is set to take over the position left vacant after husband's death.

Sunetra, who unsuccessfully fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections before entering the Rajya Sabha on June 18 2024, is likely to be elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party on Saturday and subsequently take oath as deputy chief minister, they added, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.

Senior party leaders proposed Sunetra Pawar’s appointment as Deputy Chief Minister to set the party’s direction ahead of the Pune Zilla Parishad elections scheduled for February 7, as per the sources cited by India Today.

Sources further said that discussions took place within the Pawar family following the proposal. After these deliberations, Sunetra Pawar agreed to take on the role of deputy CM.

Earlier on Friday, while talking to reporters at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) office, Chhagan Bhujbal said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he has no issues if her oath-taking ceremony as the deputy CM takes place on Saturday itself.

VIDEO | Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, "We met the Chief Minister... We also met him last night. We asked whether everything, including the swearing-in ceremony and other formalities, could be done tomorrow. The Chief Minister said he had no… pic.twitter.com/Ff0VSSBijX

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 30, 2026

The development comes amid the buzz over the merger of the two factions of the NCP, which many called the leader’s “last wish".

Who will be next NCP chief?

NCP’s Sunil Tatkare said, “The Nationalist Congress Party MLAs’ meeting will be held today at 2 pm. As the State President, I have called this meeting. Legislative Council members, Assembly members, and MPs—all will be present. The meeting will conclude in everyone’s presence. The NCP chief will be picked. CM Fadnavis will be informed about it."

Ajit Pawar plane crash

Ajit Pawar, 66, died on Wednesday morning after the aircraft carrying him crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The plane crash-landed near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board the chartered plane. Among the deceased were his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots.

On Thursday, Ajit Pawar's last rites were carried out with full state honours at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati, where his sons lit the funeral pyre and carried out the final rituals.

Several prominent leaders and dignitaries, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, and actor Riteish Deshmukh, attended the funeral and paid their last respects.