Sunetra Pawar becomes Maharashtra’s first woman deputy CM, sworn in 3 days after husband Ajit's death

Sunetra succeeds her husband Ajit Pawar who died in a plane crash on January 28

Updated on: Jan 31, 2026, 22:44:42 IST

By Aarish Chhabra

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Sunetra Pawar, 62, took the oath of office as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on Saturday, becoming the first woman to hold this position in the history of the state, though in tragic circumstances. She succeeds her husband Ajit Pawar who died in a plane crash on January 28.

Sunetra Pawar takes oath as deputy CM (HT Photo)

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Lok Bhavan and was administered by the Governor.

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The swearing-in was attended by CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and deputy CM Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena, both allies with Sunetra Pawar's NCP.

Supporters of the NCP shouted slogans like “Ajit dada amar rahe” (Long live our brother Ajit) and “Vahini saheb aage badho, hum tumhare saath hain” (We stand with our sister-in-law) after the ceremony.

PM Narendra Modi posted on X: “Best wishes to Sunetra Pawar Ji as she begins her tenure as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the first woman to hold this responsibility. I am confident she will work tirelessly for the welfare of the people of the state and fulfil the vision of the late Ajitdada Pawar.”

Until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra Pawar had kept a low profile. In the elections that year, she contested from Baramati as the candidate of her husband's party, but was defeated by her sister-in-law and incumbent NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule in the prestige battle. Sunetra was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Sunetra Pawar, daughter of former Maharashtra minister Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, has a background in social work, and the cooperative sector that the Pawars hold sway over. She is a post-graduate in bio-chemistry.

Ahead of the ceremony, the NCP submitted a letter on the election of Sunetra Pawar as its legislature party leader to CM Fadnavis.

Senior NCP leaders, including Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal, met the CM at 'Varsha', his official residence in south Mumbai, and handed over the letter to him. Fadnavis then forwarded the letter to Governor Acharya Devvrat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aarish Chhabra
Aarish Chhabra is an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times online team, writing news reports and explanatory articles, besides overseeing coverage for the website. His career spans nearly two decades across India's most respected newsrooms in print, digital, and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats — from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary — building a body of work that reflects both editorial rigour and a deep curiosity about the society he writes for. Aarish studied English literature, sociology and history, besides journalism, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and started his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of ‘The Big Small Town: How Life Looks from Chandigarh’, a collection of critical essays originally serialised as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, examining the culture and politics of a city that is far more than its famous architecture — and, in doing so, holding up a mirror to modern India. In stints at the BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV, and Jagran New Media, he worked across formats and languages; mainly English, also Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project replicated across the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and content quality. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, he developed a website that simplified academic research in management. At Bennett University's Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing, to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from a small town to a bigger town to a mega city for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture — a perspective that informs both his writing and his view of the world. When not working, he is constantly reading long-form journalism or watching brainrot content, sometimes both at the same time.Read More

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