No idea about Sunetra Pawar being sworn in as Maharashtra Deputy CM, says Sharad Pawar

Sunetra Pawar reached Devgiri, the official residence of her late husband in south Mumbai, accompanied by son Parth

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday (January 31, 2026) said he had ‘no idea about Sunetra Pawar being sworn in as Maharashtra Deputy CM’.

Ms. Pawar, wife of departed NCP supremo Ajit Pawar is likely to take oath as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday (January 31, 2026).

We don’t know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news. “I have no idea about the swearing-in,” he said, when asked if anyone from the Pawar family would be attending the ceremony.

He said the NCP must have made the decision.

“Some people like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare took the initiative. These people may have decided something,” he said.

The veteran leader further claimed that it was his late nephew Ajit Pawar’s desire to unite both factions, and that they were optimistic about it.

“Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated the talks about the merger of the two factions. Even the merger date had been fixed — it was scheduled on the 12th (February). Unfortunately, Ajit left us before that,” he said.

Ms. Pawar reached Devgiri, the official residence of her late husband in South Mumbai, in the wee hours of Saturday, accompanied by son Parth.

Ajit Pawar’s uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that he was not aware if his nephew’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, would be sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday, following Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on Wednesday.

“I have no information about it. Her party must have decided…What I saw in the newspaper today: some names like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatakare who have taken the initiative to make some decisions. I had no discussion on this. I have no information about this…I am not even aware if it is happening,” Sharad Pawar said.

The leadership of the NCP (SP) and Sharad Pawar’s family were not aware of Sunetra Pawar’s decision to join the BJP-led government.

Talks of a merger between the two NCP factions had been going on for the past four months, led by Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, but Sharad Pawar said the process has been put on hold following his nephew’s death.

“Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated the talks about the merger of the two factions. Even the merger date had been fixed – it was scheduled on the 12th (February). Unfortunately, Ajit left us before that,” he said.

The NCP divided in July 2023, when Ajit Pawar took more than 40 of the party’s 54 MLAs to join the BJP-led Mahayuti government. Following the split, Sharad Pawar named his faction the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the Mahayuti coalition will support the NCP’s decision on the vacant Deputy Chief Minister post.

“The decision will be taken by the NCP. We will support whatever decision they take. We are standing by the family of Ajit Pawar and the NCP,” Fadnavis told reporters.

Ajit Pawar, 66, died on Wednesday when the VT-SSK Learjet 45 he was traveling in crashed while landing at Baramati airport. Four others on board, including his personal security officer Vidhit Jadhav, pilot Sumit Kapoor, first officer Shambhavi Pathak, and cabin crew member Pinky Mali, also died.

Sunetra Pawar, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, is set to be elected as the leader of the legislation wing of the NCP at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday. She is likely to take oath as Deputy Chief Minister after that.

She reached the official residence of her late husband in South Mumbai in the early hours, accompanied by her son Parth.

Ajit Pawar’s last rites were performed with full state honors on Thursday at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati. His sons lit the funeral pyre and conducted the final rituals.

Leaders present include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and actor Riteish Deshmukh.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar on Saturday indicated that the process to merge the two NCPs, which was scheduled for February 12, has halted following the death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. He suggested that leaders from the Ajit Pawar camp are no longer keen on the merger despite his own party’s willingness.

Speaking at a press conference, his first amid the rapidly unfolding political developments after Ajit Pawar’s demise, Sharad Pawar said the merger talks, which had been ongoing for four months, have been interrupted, creating uncertainty about the party’s future direction.

Unfortunately,

Ajit Pawar’s plane crash has halted the merger talks,“ Sharad Pawar said, adding that there had been a shared desire for unity. “Our desire is also that the two sides should come together.”

Pawar’s remarks come amidst speculation that the urgency shown by Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s widow, in taking oath as deputy chief minister was driven by anxieties within the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction. Leaders from that camp privately say the move was prompted by pressure from the other faction to push through a merger, and a growing realization that without a strong power centre, the party could drift and lose cohesion.

Sharad Pawar hinted at these concerns while reflecting on the developments. “There may be a feeling that someone has to take responsibility of the NCP and possibly out of this reason, the latest development (Sunetra Pawar’s oath taking ceremony) may be taking place,” he said. Sunetra Pawar will take oath at 5pm on Saturday.

Pawar senior said that Ajit Pawar had proposed February 12 as a provisional date for the merger and had been actively involved in discussions. “Ajit Pawar was an effective leader,” he said, underlining his central role in keeping the talks alive.

Sharad Pawar tried to distance himself from the negotiations, saying he was not directly involved. “While I was not involved in the merger talks, it was taking place between Jayant Patil from my party and Ajit Pawar from the NCP,” he said.

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