Sunetra Pawar elected unopposed as chairman of Malegaon Sugar Factory

Following Pawar’s death, the chairman’s post fell vacant, and all elected members of the board unanimously chose Sunetra Pawar as the new chairperson

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar was elected unopposed as chairperson of the Malegaon Sugar Factory in Baramati on Friday, becoming the first woman to lead the cooperative.

Sunetra Pawar (in pic) has become the first woman to chair the factory in its 70-year history. (HT)

Her late husband, former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, had previously chaired the factory and had made its recent elections, held eight months ago, highly prestigious. Despite his statewide political duties, Ajit Pawar had closely supervised the elections, securing his panel’s dominance in the cooperative.

Following Pawar’s death, the chairman’s post fell vacant, and all elected members of the board unanimously chose Sunetra Pawar as the new chairperson. With this, she has become the first woman to chair the factory in its 70-year history.

Speaking after her election, Pawar said, “The Malegaon Sugar Factory is closely connected with farmers and sugarcane producers. I will ensure justice and support for the factory. Ajit Pawar had a very close association with this institution, and it was his dream to make it one of the leading cooperative sugar factories in the state. I will extend my full support to fulfil that vision.”

Ajit Pawar began his political career at the Malegaon Sugar Factory, where he devoted considerable time to the institution over the past several years.