Sunetra Pawar to Step Into Ajit Pawar’s Role, Sharad Pawar Distances Himself
NCP Takes Succession Call Without Family Consultation, Says Sharad Pawar
- Sunetra Pawar set to assume a key political role after Ajit Pawar’s death
- Sharad Pawar says NCP decided successor without consulting the Pawar family
- NCP-SP chief claims he learnt about swearing-in plans through media
- Developments revive fault lines after the 2023 NCP split
GG News Bureau
Pune, 31st Jan: Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is set to step into a larger political role following his death in a plane crash earlier this week. The decision, however, has sparked political debate after Sharad Pawar said the move was taken by the Nationalist Congress Party without consulting the Pawar family.
Speaking to the media in Baramati, Sharad Pawar distanced himself from the succession decision and indicated that he was not part of the deliberations. When asked whether he was sidelined in the process of choosing Ajit Pawar’s successor, he replied briefly, “I don’t know,” underscoring a clear separation between family relationships and political decision-making.
Sharad Pawar also said he was unaware of any formal swearing-in ceremony planned for Sunetra Pawar and had come to know about it only through news reports. “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, adding that he could not confirm whether any member of the Pawar family would attend the event.
The development has brought renewed focus on internal dynamics within the NCP, which split in 2023 after Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle’s faction to form a separate group. While the party now appears keen to ensure leadership continuity, Sharad Pawar’s remarks suggest that political decisions and family consensus are no longer intertwined within the Pawar-led political legacy.
Ajit Pawar’s sudden demise has left a vacuum in Maharashtra politics, with the NCP moving swiftly to stabilise its leadership even as questions linger over unity and future direction within the party.
