Mumbai : The past two years have been nothing short of a rollercoaster for Sunetra Pawar. From making her political debut at 61 by unsuccessfully contesting the Lok Sabha polls, to her surprise entry in the Rajya Sabha, to becoming the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra — a post left vacant after the sudden death of her husband, Ajit Pawar. It is a script India is not alien to. History is replete with examples of how political compulsions or tragic instances have propelled the wives of prominent leaders into the public arena.
Sunetra was born in erstwhile Osmanabad (now Dharashiv) in 1963 into a Maratha family with a strong political background. Both her father, Bajirao Patil, and brother, Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, were powerful political figures. In fact, Padamsinh, a former Maharashtra Cabinet minister and ex-Osmanabad Lok Sabha MP, was one of the founding members of the NCP and was close to Sharad Pawar. She completed her Bachelor’s in Commerce from the SB Arts and Commerce College in Aurangabad in 1983. In 1985, she met Ajit Pawar through her brother and tied the knot that year.
She first grabbed attention through her public work in Kathewadi, the Pawar family’s ancestral village. There, she led a cleanliness drive after noticing poor hygiene and open defecation, and is credited with turning it into Maharashtra’s first ‘eco village’. It now has solar streetlights, biogas units, and is among the first villages to adopt organic farming. Sunetra has also led several grassroots campaigns on biodiversity conservation and has worked extensively on water management, especially in the drought-prone areas of western Maharashtra, known for farmer suicides.
Speculation gained ground over her entry into politics in 2023 when Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle and split the NCP, joining hands with the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance to form the government. However, she was quick to scotch the speculation then. “I have never been interested in politics. It’s not my arena. Many around me insist that I join, but I have never thought in that direction,” Sunetra told a Marathi channel in 2023.
In 2009, her brother, Padamsinh, was named as the main accused by the CBI in the murder of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar. The case is still pending before the courts. Sunetra’s name also cropped up during a probe related to irregularities in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank. In 2021, the ED attached assets linked to firms associated with Ajit and Sunetra. However, in 2024, the Mumbai Police gave her a clean chit.
She will also have to delicately navigate the challenge of the Mahayuti alliance. Ajit Pawar shared a good rapport with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and kept Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, known as a tough negotiator, in check. It remains to be seen how the dynamics in the alliance change now, with a section stressing that a Pawar-less Mahayuti would give Shinde more voice.
Read Also : Sunetra Pawar Takes Oath As Maharashtra Deputy CM After Ajit Pawar’s Death
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