NCP Deliberates Bigger Role For Sunetra Pawar After Ajit’s Death

January 29, 2026

A power tussle has begun within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), with the party set to propose late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar for the post of Maharashtra deputy chief minister.

Mumbai : A power tussle has begun within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), with the party set to propose late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar for the post of Maharashtra deputy chief minister. Senior NCP leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde and Sunil Tatkare have held meetings with Sunetra Pawar as part of internal consultations. In all likelihood, Sunetra Pawar will contest from the seat vacated by Ajit Pawar, the sources added.

The proposal will include inducting Sunetra Pawar as deputy chief minister. NCP leaders are also expected to meet Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the proposal and the future course of action. Praful Patel, the working president of the party, may take the lead in steering the NCP during this phase. Discussions on a possible merger with NCP (SP) are likely to be taken up at a later stage. Pawar and four other people on board the aircraft were killed after it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop airstrip.

Everyone has realised that there is no point in remaining scattered and have to be together.” Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state along with the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Minister Narhari Zirwal informed that public sentiment favoured her induction into the ministry. “The public wants Sunetra Pawar to be brought into the state ministry,” Zirwal said.

Sources said senior leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde and Sunil Tatkare have met Sunetra Pawar as part of internal consultations following Ajit Pawar’s death. Patel, the party’s working president, is expected to take a leading role in steering the party during this transitional phase. The proposal to induct Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister is likely to be accompanied by discussions on the party’s broader political strategy, including the timing of a possible merger with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), which is expected to be taken up later.