Ajit Pawar’s uncle and chief of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) said that he was not aware whether his nephew’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, was taking oath on Saturday as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra after Ajit Pawar’s tragic death in a plane crash on Wednesday.
Pawar senior added that there were talks on merging the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party and that Ajit Pawar was of the view that the merger should happen on February 12.
Sharad Pawar said that the talks of merger were going on for the past four months. He added that it is still their desire that two sides should come together.
Also read: Sunetra Pawar to take oath as first woman deputy CM of Maharashtra at 5pm today
The founder of the undivided Nationalist Congress Party admitted that while he was not actively a part of the merger talks, they were held between Jayant Patil, a key leader of Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, and Ajit Pawar. However, he added that the merger talks have been put on hold after his nephew died in a plane crash.
The political landscape of Maharashtra has severely shifted after Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, along with four others onboard, died after the ill-fated VT-SSK Learjet 45 business jet they were travelling in to go to Baramati crashed while landing. Apart from Ajit, the four other people onboard who also lost their lives included his personal security officer Vidhit Jadhav, pilot-in-command Sumit Kapur, first officer Shambhavi Pathak and cabin crew member Pinky Mali.
Also read: Sunetra Pawar to be state’s first woman deputy CM
Sunetra Pawar to take oath as Maharashtra deputy CM
Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, will step into his shoes after his death and take oath as Maharashtra deputy chief minister on Saturday, said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders aware of the matter, Hindustan Times reported earlier.
Sunetra Pawar is also likely to be elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party on Saturday before taking oath as Maharashtra deputy chief minister.
To take the decision on the matter and elect Sunetra Pawar as the new NCP leader, the party’s 40 legislators are likely to meet in Mumbai at Vidhan Bhavan at 2 pm on Saturday. Following her election as the NCP leader, Sunetra Pawar will likely take oath as Maharashtra deputy chief minister in a low key ceremony at Lok Bhavan at 5 pm, according to party functionaries.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also said on Friday that Mahayuti alliance will back the party’s decision on filling the vacant deputy CM post in the state. “The decision will be taken by the NCP. We will stand by whatever decision the NCP takes…We are standing by the family of Ajit Pawar and NCP,” Fadnavis said while talking to reporters.
(With inputs from Yogesh Joshi)