NCP likely to nominate Sunetra Pawar as candidate for Rajya Sabha polls

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, is poised to be the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) candidate for the RS polls scheduled for June 25

Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, is poised to be the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for June 25. Party insiders said that the party leadership has finalized her name for the candidature.

Sunetra Pawar went up against Supriya Sule in Baramati. (HT)

Sunetra recently contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Baramati constituency and faced defeat against sitting MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule, in a highly contested family battle. She lost by 1.58 lakh votes.

“The party has decided to rehabilitate her. It will also aid in fortifying the party’s stance in Baramati post election events,” said an NCP insider. “She will actively campaign for party chief Ajit Pawar in the upcoming state assembly elections, ensuring he isn’t confined to his own constituency during the poll campaign,” he added.

Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare mentioned that they would announce the candidate’s name on Thursday. “It’s NCP’s seat. I will announce our candidate tomorrow morning,” he said, declining to comment on Sunetra Pawar’s name.

Sunetra’s nomination comes a day after Parth Pawar, the deputy chief minister’s elder son, held discussions with NCP working president Praful Patel and Tatkare at the party office, advocating for his own candidature. The Rajya Sabha seat became vacant after Patel’s resignation in February this year. Thursday marks the deadline for filing nomination papers.